Turn Me On Dead Man (pdf format) David Clarke Lambertson
Three band mates cover up the death of their famous bassist.
When someone asks you to name an urban legend, Bigfoot might come to mind. If not that hairy beast, then perhaps Bloody Mary. Or that creepy stalker guy – with a steel hook for a hand. One that probably won’t occur to you is “Billy Shears.” But if that name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry. Your mother would know. ‘Cause she was born a long, long time ago…
Based off the legend of a world famous doppelganger, Turn Me On Dead Man tells a tale of a man plucked from obscurity and transformed into a music icon.
With a little help from his friends.
Those of you old enough to have once been called “hippies” are probably catching on right about now.
Imagine – a tongue-in-cheek retelling of the infamous “Paul is dead” hoax.
That is, unless it’s really true…
The script opens after Paul McCartney’s fatal car accident. A stunned John, George and Ringo come together to conspire – hatching a plot to replace their friend with a look-alike, and keep the Beatles’ dream alive. As luck would have it, they discover a dead ringer. The one and only Billy Shears.
But can Billy and the lads Fool the World? Or will the band inevitably leave a trail of musical crumbs that point their loyal fans towards the truth?
A fab mixture of folklore and fantasy, Turn Me On Dead Man is chock full of enough jokes to fill Albert Hall. See if you can spot all the Beatle lyrics hidden in the dialogue… beginning with the title, all the way to the horrifying end.
And if you don’t know what we’re talking about by now? Get thee to Pandora. Immediately!
Pages: 8
Budget: Moderate. Locations include a recording studio and a concert backstage area. Costumes require Beatle suits and wigs. If you’re lucky, you might even convince Ringo to play himself. All he has to do is act naturally.
About the writer: David Clarke Lambertson took up writing rather late in life having already been retired before he put pen to paper (okay – finger to computer key) for the first time. His favorite genres to read and write are dramedies and romantic comedies. He has written three features; The Last Statesman (a Nicholl’s and BlueCat quarterfinalist), The Beginning of The End and The End (a Nicholl’s quarterfinalist and PAGE Awards semi-finalist) and has recently completed a new comedy – Screw You Tube.
About the reviewer: David M Troop resumed writing in 2011 after a twenty-five year hiatus. Since then, he has written about 50 short scripts, two of which have been produced. Dave would like to make it three. He is a regular, award-winning contributor to MoviePoet.com. Born on the mean streets of Reading, PA, Dave now resides in Schuylkill Haven with his wife Jodi and their two lazy dogs Max and Mattie. He can be reached at dtroop506 “AT” Gmail.
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2 Comments so far
1.
KP Mackie
May 13th, 2015 at 1:38 am
I remember it well…
Clever and entertaining. Nice trip down memory lane. 🙂
2.
don semo
December 27th, 2016 at 9:14 pm
So did the title Turn Me On Deadman come from the Beatles White album? If you get the original record and place it on a turntable where you can rotate the disk the opposite way on the track Revolution #9, you can hear Turn Me On Dead Man.