"Now And Then" The Beatles release their last song on November 2
53 years after the Beatles broke up, the band has announced the release of their last song next week. It's called "Now And Then" and was once written by John Lennon.
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- Whether together or apart, the Beatles have always had a talent for the unexpected.
- And now, 53 years after the band broke up, comes one of the most anticipated releases: "Now And Then" is the last Beatles song.
- The song was once written by John Lennon. "Now And Then" is to be released worldwide next Thursday, November 2, 2 p.m. (European time).
- blue Zoom will be showing the documentary on the making of "Now And Then" on Friday, November 3, 6.30 pm.
It was a sensation when Paul McCartney announced a final "new" Beatles song in an interview with the BBC last summer.
Now it has been officially announced today that the song "Now And Then" will be released simultaneously worldwide next Thursday, November 2, 2 p.m. (European time).
Based on a demo by John Lennon, whose voice was freed from background noise thanks to the latest AI technology, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have completed the track. The electric and acoustic guitars by George Harrison date from 1995.
The song is a gift from Yoko Ono
According to the press release, the story of "Now And Then" begins in the late 1970s, when John Lennon recorded a demo with vocals and piano in New York's Dakota Building.
In the mid-1990s, his wife Yoko Ono is said to have sent the recording to Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - along with Lennon's demos for "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love".
These two songs were completed for the "Anthology" project and released as "new" Beatles songs. The trio worked with producer Jeff Lynne on a rough mix for "Now And Then".
However, due to technical limitations, it was not yet possible to separate Lennon's vocals and piano at that time. The song therefore remained in the archive.
Paul McCartney: "There it was, John's voice, crystal clear"
But then Peter Jackson came into the picture. For his documentary "The Beatles: Get Back", the Australian was able to use WingNut Films' MAL audio technology to unmix mono recordings and isolate instruments, vocals and all the individual voices in Beatles' conversations.
This paved the way for a Revolver mix from 2022, taken directly from the four-track master tapes. This raised the question: what could be done with the "Now And Then" demo? The team actually managed to isolate the voice satisfactorily.
"There it was, John's voice, crystal clear," Paul McCartney is quoted as saying in the press release. "It's quite emotional. And we all play on it, it's a real Beatles recording."
Completion of the song by McCartney and Starr
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr then set about completing the song. The lead vocals on "Now And Then" are shared between Lennon and McCartney.
George Harrison's guitar parts came from the failed attempt to complete the song for the "Anthology" series. Meanwhile, Starr and McCartney re-recorded the drums and bass.
And "Macca" added "a George-inspired slide guitar solo", according to the press release. Strings were later recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.
Producer Giles Martin and McCartney also used original background vocal tracks from "Here, There and Everywhere", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Because" and incorporated them into the song "Now And Then".
Another 21 songs will follow on November 10
The single "Now And Then" will now be released digitally and on vinyl next week.
And that's not all: one week later, on November 10, the reissues of the 1973 albums "1962 to 1966" ("The Red Album") and "1967 to 1970" ("The Blue Album"), which have been expanded by a total of 21 songs, will follow.
Both albums (CD and vinyl) together now contain 75 tracks - from the first single "Love Me Do" to the final "Now And Then". Martin and Sam Okell remixed the songs at Abbey Road Studios, also in Dolby Atmos (available digitally).