Since Joe Meek died in such tragic circumstances in 1967, there has been much speculation about what happened in the few minutes it took to end two lives, and in the hours leading up to the shootings. Since the publication of the first biography of Joe Meek in 1989, the speculation has grown to obscure the facts and encompass wild theories and conjecture - some reasonable, some frankly outlandish. In the following article, I will look at what I have heard and read over the years, and attempt to put it in all in a logical and readable form. I do not offer a solution, although I will comment on some theories and say why I think they are more or less credible than others. I believe that there is probably a trace of truth in many of the theories, but until more evidence is available, which parts are truth and which fanciful cannot fully be determined. Some of the 'evidence' I present will appear to contradict other passages - this is because many of the so-called facts that are common knowledge are not actually facts at all, and are merely based on one person's memories. I do not consider anything to be really useful as evidence unless at least two independent witnesses have made the same statements, something which is sadly lacking in most of what we know. However, I have tried to include everything which may be relevant, whether fact, theory, myth or vague speculation. I have not had access to police or inquest records or post-mortem reports - attempts to obtain these have not met with a great deal of success. I have used contemporary news reports - some of which contain reports and statements at some length, and all of which accounts agree - and also writings published in the intervening thirty years. I have listened to theories and gossip discussed between interested parties, and I have talked to many people who knew Joe well or have some connection to the events. Finally, I have also consulted experts in the fields of forensics, ballistics, psychiatry, and the occult.

The only facts that can be unquestionably stated about the events of February 3rd, 1967, are that at approximately 10.30am, at 304 Holloway Road, London N7, Robert George 'Joe' Meek, aged 37, lay dead, and Mrs. Violet Shenton, aged 54, lay dying of gunshot wounds to the head and back respectively. Make your way through the maze of myth, legend and fact, and make up your own mind.

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