RAOB, Queen B and the Beatles

RAOB stands for the Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffaloes and is a masonic type organisation originally created for stage hands and other theatrical types. John Lennon’s uncle Charlie was a long-time member and, it would appear, Beyonce is now supporting the movement.

 Click here for larger image

As can be seen she is proudly wearing the organisations crest and displaying its motto, Justice, Truth and Philanthropy on her Roll of Honour sash in the promotional video for her upcoming tour. The Beatles also paid tribute to this obscure outfit with the inclusion on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP cover of the ‘Legionnaire of the Order of the Buffaloes’ character who lurks behind the ‘Temple-Dors’.

RAOB medal

So, what is it about this shadowy organisation that appears so appealing to pop royalty? Well, the Beatles have long been fond of furnishing us with masonic symbolism – the Pepper cover could well signify a masonic initiation ceremony – and Beyonce and her husband, Jay Z, are fond of using Illuminati style symbolism in their videos, so, perhaps they are letting us, and their enlightened brethren, know that they have been illuminated?

It is perhaps telling that Beyonce is dressed up, in a coronation style scenario, as a Queen. Queen Elizabeth I possibly? The good Queen Bess was another character that was depicted on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s – though her image was obscured by George Harrison in the finished piece but can be seen in some of the out-takes– though the representation chosen was that of Bette Davis portraying the Queen from the movie ‘The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex’. An actor in costume playing a role, just as Beyonce is in the video and just as a masonic candidate is when initiated into the craft.

That the Queen was hidden on the album cover was no accident, it is a symbolic representation of hidden knowledge. Hidden knowledge of the type possessed by Queen Elizabeth I’s trusted lieutenant – and possibly also her son – Sir Francis Bacon: the true author of the works of Shakespeare, the editor of the King James Bible, the arch exponent of hidden coded messages and the archetypal Rosicruician, the father of the Illuminati.

This assertion can be backed up by the use of the word Antediluvian in the Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffaloes. The Antediluvian period – meaning "before the deluge" – is the period referred to in the Bible between the Creation of the Earth and the Deluge (flood) in the biblical cosmology. The Legionnaire character is a nod to the author Ignatius L Donnelly. In 1882, Donnelly published ‘Atlantis: The Antediluvian World’, his best known work. It details theories concerning the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Donnelly suggested that Atlantis had been destroyed during the same event remembered in the Bible as the Great Flood.

Donnelly was also a great believer in the theory that Sir Francis Bacon was the true author of the works of Shakespeare and in 1888 he published ‘The Great Cryptogram’ in support of this belief. Bacon’s most famous work, in his own name, was his tome ‘New Atlantis’ and it is a vision of a Rosicrucian paradise. A paradise very similar to the one portrayed in the Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine’ in the domain of Pepperland, found, as I am sure you will recall, 80,000 leagues under the sea.

The twentieth century’s greatest proponent of this sort of hidden knowledge was, of course, Aleister Crowley. Crowley also appears on the Sgt. Pepper sleeve and may well appear twice. His second incarnation? Disguised as the ‘Legionnaire of the Order of the Buffaloes’ of course.

Beyonce knows this, Jay Z knows this and the Beatles know this – now we do too!

For more information please read The Sgt. Pepper Code.

Iamaphoney and the Sgt. Pepper Code

Firstly, may I take this opportunity to wish all readers a happy and prosperous new year. 2012 was a productive year for this blog and the highlight was the release of The Sgt. Pepper Code book in August.

I have been delighted with the level of feedback and support I have had for the book and this has been cemented by some very kind words from no less a luminary than the YouTube video sensation, Iamaphoney. The man who goes under the sobriquet Billy Martin emailed me recently and said: -

"It seems like you have a fair amount of these  "unknown to the masses"  facts on board which is great, not that all of them are true but they are all little myths in their own rights, really. The book is for me those little doodles and here is a superb talent of getting those little stories to fit and, I must say, the Sgt Pepper cover is a "detailed-eternity"  photo, there is always something to find and you, Redwel Trabant, have been doing a great job" 

Clearly, to receive an endorsement from someone so high profile and influential is fantastic and somewhat of a coup for me, I believe. I am glad that the book is being read in such illustrious circles and is garnering so much interest.

To obtain your copy of The Sgt. Pepper Code please follow the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sgt-Pepper-Code-ebook/dp/B008U81UZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357554695&sr=8-1&keywords=sgt+pepper+code

As a further aside I hope I will be able to shortly announce another exciting project!

Welcome the good guys?

I have recently stumbled across some information pertaining to the jumper that is worn by the 'Shirley Temple' doll on the Sgt. Pepper sleeve that is contradictory to the Peter Blake version that I quote in 'The Sgt Pepper Code'. 

Blakes version of events is as follows: -

“I worked in Michael Cooper’s studio for a fortnight constructing the set, fixing the top row to the back wall and putting the next about six inches in front and so on, so that we got a tiered effect. Then we put in the palm tree and the other little objects. I wanted to have the waxworks of the Beatles because I thought they might be looking at Sgt Pepper's band too. The boy who delivered the floral display asked if he could contribute by making a guitar out of hyacinths, and the little girl

wearing the 'WMCA Welcome the Rolling Stones, Good Guys' sweatshirt was a cloth figure of Shirley Temple, the shirt coming from Michael Cooper's young son Adam".

However, the article from the August 1966 copy of 'Hit Parader' magazine is somewhat different.

So, it would appear that the sweatshirt says,
'WMPS' and not 'WMCA', despite what practically every source, including my own book, says, and that it must have been given to The Beatles by Jagger himself and therefore, did not come from Pepper sleeve photographer Michal Cooper's son, Adam.

Of course Cooper, and the Stones, would return the favour of the cross brand advertising when they realeased their next long player, 'Their Satanic Majesties Request', by including concealed images of the Fab four on their mega expensive new record sleeve.

What story is the correct one? Who knows, however, it proves yet again that when dealing with stories concerning the Sgt. Pepper sleeve you just never know what is real and what is bogus. I mean, they way they carry on you would think they were hiding some hidden secret or something?

Lennon's Ghost - Blue Meanies

Lennon says "It's dead good this"

I recently came across a gem of a clip, dating back to the Anthology days, of Paul McCartney discussing Free as a Bird.

In the clip McCartney discusses the use of reversed messages in Beatles tunes - something he describes as Beatles clues rather revealingly - and then talks about the one they inserted into Free as a Bird.

Having discussed this the camera appears to become afflicted by a bizarre blue apparation which McCartney immediately decides is the spectoral spirit of the departed Lennon giving his blessing to proceedings.

It is not my best editorial work, it being rather rushed and I may well return to it at a later date, however, it is an extremely interesting piece of video which merely confirms my widely held belief that The Beatles were encoding hidden messages and symbolism into their work.

I hope that this work will signal a flurry of activity on the video front and I do have some interesting projects in the pipeline.

For more on The Beatles and their hidden messages read my book, The Sgt Pepper Code. 

 

When John met Yoko

The Mystery of when Beatle John Lennon met Yoko Ono.

Yoko at Indica

The story of how John Lennon met Yoko Ono is typical of the mis and dis-information that surrounds the Beatles.

The story, as described by John Lennon to Jann Wenner for a 1971 Rolling Stone magazine, tells of the conventional tale that they met on November 9, 1966 and is as follows:    WENNER: How did you meet Yoko?

LENNON: I’m sure I’ve told you this many times. How did I meet Yoko? There was a sort of underground clique in London; John Dunbar, who was married to Marianne Faithful, had an art gallery in London called Indica and I’d been going around to galleries a bit on my off days in between records. I’d been to see a Takis exhibition, I don’t know if you know what that means, he does multiple electro-magnetic sculptures, and a few exhibitions in different galleries who showed these sort of unknown artists or underground artists. I got the word that this amazing woman was putting on a show next week and there was going to be something about people in bags, in black bags, and it was going to be a bit of a happening and all that. So I went down to a preview of the show. I got there the night before it opened. I went in – she didn’t know who I was or anything – I was wandering around, there was a couple of artsy type students that had been helping lying around there in the gallery, and I was looking at it and I was astounded. There was an apple on sale there for 200 quid, I thought it was fantastic–I got the humour in her work immediately. I didn’t have to sort of have much knowledge about avant-garde or underground art, but the humour got me straight away. There was a fresh apple on a stand, this was before Apple–and it was 200 quid to watch the apple decompose. But there was another piece which really decided me for-or-against the artist, a ladder which led to a painting which was hung on the ceiling. It looked like a blank canvas with a chain with a spy glass hanging on the end of it. This was near the door when you went in. I climbed the ladder, you look through the spyglass and in tiny little letters it says “yes”. So it was positive. I felt relieved. It’s a great relief when you get up the ladder and you look through the spyglass and it doesn’t say “no” or “fuck you” or something, it said “yes.”

Barry Miles, McCartney biographer and chief Beatles propagandist, perhaps predictably, further muddies the water by not giving an actual date but suggests it may have been 1967 in his account of events..."In '67 there was an art symposium. ... Within about six weeks of Yoko coming in, we had a show of hers. We gave her her first European show - it might have even been her first gallery show. Lennon came around the day we were hanging the show. There were about 10 people there.

John Dunbar introduced John to Yoko and she showed him around. I think she was a bit suspicious because Lennon famously said, 'Avant-garde is French for bullshit' He always had a chip on his shoulder. He obviously liked the show, and there was one item there that was a stepladder you had to climb up. On the ceiling was something written so small you couldn't read it. Hanging there was a chain with a magnifying glass.

So you wobbled about on the top of this ladder, and it said, 'Yes.' He thought it was going to say some negative thing like 'fuck off.' He was very pleased with the fact it was a positive message. He always claimed that was what changed his mind about Yoko."

However, according to Wikipedia there is a second version. In this one, as told by Paul McCartney, Ono was in London in late 1965 compiling original musical scores for a book John Cage was working on called Notations. McCartney declined to give her any of his own manuscripts, but suggested that Lennon might oblige. When asked, Lennon gave Ono the original handwritten lyrics to "The Word".

Miles again does seem to confirm this version with this quote from a Daily Telegraph interview...
"She knew exactly who they were. She'd already approached Paul for some John Cage manuscripts she wanted. He wouldn't give her anything, but suggested she go to John. But she told John she'd never heard of the Beatles and he believed her."

Yoko, he says, methodically pursued the Beatle for the next 18 months, bombarding him with postcards. "John always assumed she was after sponsorship. But it all changed when Yoko visited him at home while Cynthia was away on holiday.

"John had called a meeting at Apple to announce to the other Beatles that he was the reincarnation of Jesus - I think it was the only thing on the agenda - and, that night, Yoko came over, and they stayed up all night and made the tape that became Two Virgins, and then made love as dawn was coming up."

There are those who have claimed Paul and Yoko had an affair at this point but that's pure speculation.

Now, in an interview with the late Reg King, former lead singer of the sixties mod band the Action, I have come across perhaps a third version. In the interview Reg is asked “You knew Yoko Ono early as well, is that right?”

Reg King of The Action

“Yeah, I met Yoko at the Middle Earth in Covent Garden. She said “Reggie, you look very much like John Lennon” – which a few people had said before because I guess I do look a bit like him. “I’d really like to meet John” she said. As we had the same producer as The Beatles she wouldn’t leave me alone. It wasn’t me she wanted, it was John. So I said, “Look, if it helps, John does occasionally go to The Speakeasy. I see him there sometimes on a Tuesday night.” The very next Tuesday she was there. Before, she’d had all the flower dresses on, the psychedelic outfit, but in The Speakeasy she had the West End girl look. All smooth and smart. That night Paul and John came in. Paul said hello. And John used to say to me (adopts heavy scouse accent) “Aye, ye Action Man!” That was all he ever used to say, but he spoke to me at least! Yoko stood there dumbfounded, “Wow, you really do know The Beatles.” Within fifteen minutes she was in there and the rest is history.”

Unfortunately, no date is provided for the meeting, however, it does cast massive doubt on Yoko’s claim that before she met Lennon she had never had of him, or the Beatles, and adds weight to the theory that she arrived in London specifically to snare a Beatle.

The mystery deepens.

The Sgt Pepper Code - The Reviews

The Sgt Pepper Code has proved to be a huge success and appears to be very popular and is receiving some great reviews, including one from YouTube Paul is Dead legend, Iamaphoney, and I am including some examples here.

"It seems like you have a fair amount of these "unknown to the masses" facts on board which is great, not that all of them are true but they are all little myths in their own rights, really. The book is for me those little doodles and here is a superb talent of getting those little stories to fit and, I must say, the Sgt Pepper cover is a "detailed-eternity" photo, there is always something to find and you, Redwel Trabant, have been doing a great job" - Billy Martin aka Iamaphoney

"I was hooked after reading the first few paragraphs of the introduction. This work is intriguing, absolutely thrilling and wonderfully written. It would be interesting to see the remaining members of the Beatle's reaction to this book. I loved it. I tried, but I couldn't put this book down; I had to keep reading hungry for the information it had to offer."

"I love conspiracies and this is a must read for every mystery enthusiast. After reading this book I was inspired to read my copy of Atlantis by Ignatius Donnelly again. Redwel Trabant is an amazing writer and I look forward to reading more of his work. Thank you for taking the time and effort to put this book together and giving it to us thirsty lovers of intrigue. You have a new admirer and my utmost respect. I really enjoyed this book, although I was surprised at the (on-going) conclusion that was reached. I would never have linked any of those findings with the Beatles."

"Being a Beatles fan, I was aware of the message played backwards, 'Paul is dead' but never in a million years would I have managed to bring together all the items on the album cover into a cohesive coded structure.

Redwel Trabant must have worked for years building up the links between the characters and the real message that the album cover was telling us. I say us, but I'm not sure if I'm one of them or one of us? A masterpiece of sleuth work, comparable to the Da Vinci code." 


"What an amazingly interesting read! The Sgt.Pepper Code takes you on a journey through the facts, rumors, conspiracy theories and legends regarding the infamous Sgt Pepper Beatles album. Redwel Trabant obviously put a lot of time and effort into research for this book as it is evident in every chapter.
Whether you are a Beatles fan or not you will find this book just fascinating."


"Much has been said and written about the Beatles and many a rumor, conspiracy theory, hint and suggestion have surfaced, quietened down and re-surfaced again over the years. Did the real Paul McCartney die in a car accident in 1967, only to be replaced by a lookalike..? (yes, that old one) But the stories surrounding Sgt Pepper and that iconic album sleeve have never failed to fascinate and this is another new and fresh approach to an already well debated subject. I think it's great."


"I have enjoyed Beatles music for years but knew little about the band and the mysteries surrounding them. The title of the book is based on the Beatles bestseller Sgt. Pepper released in June 1967. It was the eighth studio album by the English rock band. Given the critical and commercial success of Sgt. Pepper, it is natural for music aficionados to be intrigued by the myths and conspiracy stories that seem to surround the band and hit albums.
In the brief ebook, the author, Redwel Trabant takes us through several mysteries and legends of the Beatles. In chapter one, the author takes us through the urban legend "Paul is dead" with a detailed analysis of lyrics and key characters including Robert Fraser and Tara Browne. In subsequent chapters, Trabant delves into other mysteries and legends surrounding the Beatles.
An enjoyable read for Beatles fans and casual music lovers alike. "

"There is no denying the influence of the Beatles on pop culture, and on culture in general. It's very difficult to explain why that band -- at that time -- would turn out some of the most memorable and meaningful music of all time. There certainly seems to be a thread of mystery that surrounds the super-celebrities. Music is a primeval means of communication, as it speaks to the subconscious. Art, likewise, can speak on a subconscious level. Who is to say then, that there aren't messages to be decoded in the music and the art surrounding this cultural phenomenon? Whether or not those messages are there on purpose -- or perhaps created through an organic, artistic process, that can't be fully explained -- there is no denying that there is a mystery. This book does a truly great job of shining a spotlight on that mystery, and of providing many details about the album in question and the Beatles in general. Fascinating read!"


"Kudos for the new e-book entitled The Sgt. Pepper Code, by Redwel Trabant. This volume is dedicated to "Beatle fans worldwide," and is must reading for them. More broadly, readers interested in the linkage between cultural influence generally, and the fine arts in particular, with the genre of Rock Music will find this a most enjoyable excursion. Trabant looks deeply and imaginatively into the symbolism inherent in this iconic album, perhaps the finest rock album ever produced in a golden era of rock music.
Trabant describes the album itself, and its extraordinary cover, as a treasure trove of cultural clues. He invites other Beatle fans to join in him in his search for the grail of symbolic meaning hidden in this work, sometimes hidden in plain view. At the highest level, Trabant finds a great amalgam of "Holy Eternals," but his quest for hidden clues covers individual personalities such as H.G. Wells, Francis Bacon, Albert Schweizer, Edgar Allan Poe, and mysterious movements such as the Rosicucian Society, the Knights Templar, and the Masons, dating from biblical times and established in England 600 years ago. Readers also are invited to recall the fast-moving events of the lives of the Beatles, and the biograplhical implications of the curious lyrics in this album at a critical stage in their fragile careers. The old sphinx Francis Bacon, still a Lord Chancellor and keeper of the keys of mystic knowledge, would review Trabant's curious volume with delight." 


"I love the Beatles music but I really knew little about them or the fascinating Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP mysteries. You really don't have even be a Beatles fan to appreciate the masterful way Redwel Trabant uncovers clues that captivate the reader. Even if you are their biggest fan, I bet this book will show you something you didn't know. The amount of research the author put into this is both amazing and compelling. A very enjoyable and eye opening read. 
Although the beatles were way before my time. I found this book to be quite interesting and it taught me a lot of things that I did not know or had never even thought about. Great read!! "


"Before I read The Sgt Pepper Code, I thought that The Beatles album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was just a great psychedelic album. And yes- without revealing my actual age, I did spin the album backwards to listen to clues about Paul McCartney. So when I picked up this book I was intrigued.
What has this Redwel Trabant discovered? I couldn't wait to find out. I like writing that is dense with secrets and possibilities that lie beneath the surface.
A masterfully researched book, Redwel Trabants's The Sgt Pepper Code, reveals that the album, its lyrics and sleeve design contain clues that reveal a hidden message. The album cover is a treasure map and clue by clue I discovered a myriad of secrets. By following the clues, it's possible to crack a code which was previously unfound since the album's release in the 60's.
Trabant uncovers the clues like an experienced sleuth. From the tip of his fingers to his keyboard, this book is dense with facts. Significant parallels to history of time and place, markers of events, ancient buildings, religious Ley Lines, astrology, monks, nuns, Kings, Queens, apples, pomegranates, rock stars, actresses, poets, artists, paintings, pencil drawings, additions, subtractions, hyacinths, farmhouses and priories, fabrics, colours, myth, temples, statues, and symbols become clues to be read and understood.
Greater knowledge, beyond the lyrics will astound you as the code is revealed.
Masterful and intense- culture, people, history, merge in this iconic book."

 

The Sgt Pepper Code - Hidden Illuminati Secret Exposed!

What is the Sgt Pepper Code? Did the Beatles have access to hidden knowledge about the origins of Christianity? Were they taught the secrets of the Freemasons? Had they discovered the history of the Knights Templars or the occult connections of the Illuminati to whom they became exposed? Does the inclusion of Aleister Crowley on the record sleeve reveal their satanic black magic – or black magick -  roots?

The artwork for the Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP has become a truly iconic and instantly recognisable image. It invokes the spirit of a generation and captures the moment the world changed.

The Beatles embodied a new sense of creativity, a freedom of mind and the values of a new dawn and they chose to encapsulate all that within the confines of a twelve inch sphere of vinyl and a gatefold sleeve.

Who amongst us hasn’t looked at the cover of that seminal album and wondered who are all these people and why are they there? 

Who hasn’t read the printed lyrics and thought that the Beatles were talking directly to them?

Well, you were right, they were. Encased within the grooves and staring back at you from the sleeve is a remarkable treasure trove of clues and encoded information just waiting to be discovered.

Embark upon this journey and you will discover the remarkable hidden tale of a man who has shaped history, forged nations and shaped religions. A man against who even the Beatles influence pales into insignificance.

You will be astonished at just how much information is concealed within the albums contents. This is a voyage of discovery, of immense secret identities and a tale of hidden religious secrets. 

Put simply, The Sgt Pepper Code is the Rosetta Stone that will allow you to tap into the Holy Grail of Beatle mystery and symbolism.

Read this book and decode the vast quantity of hidden and deliberately obscured information. One thing is guaranteed, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will never sound the same again!