More than four decades later, The Beatles‘ final song “Now And Then” has a release date.
Set to release on November 2, “Now and Then” will feature the original recorded vocals of John Lennon alongside electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by George Harrison, a new drum part from Ringo Starr and bass, guitar and piano from Paul McCartney, who also added a slide guitar solo inspired by Harrison. The track will arrive as a double A-side single with the band’s 1962 debut UK single “Love Me Do” — marking a full circle moment for the revered group — as well as an accompanying 12-minute documentary film Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song. Written and helmed by Oliver Murray, the docu will premiere the day before and will tell the story behind the track with exclusive footage and commentary from McCartney, Starr, Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon and Peter Jackson.
Work on “Now And Then” began in the late ’70s when John Lennon recorded a demo with vocals and piano in New York. His wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, gave this and the demos of “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love” to the then-surviving members in 1994, and McCartney, Starr and Harrison recorded and completed a rough mix for the “Now And Then.” Due to the time period’s limited technology, they were unable to separate Lennon’s vocals from the piano, so they shelved the song hoping that they will be able to revisit it in the future.
They were able to do so following Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back docuseries, as his team managed to de-mix the film’s mono soundtrack and isolate instruments, vocals and the individual voices of the conversations of the band. Led by Emile de la Rey, the team applied the same technique to Lennon’s demo and were able to isolate Lennon’s original vocal performance with its full clarity and integrity.
“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear. It’s quite emotional. And we all play on it, it’s a genuine Beatles recording. In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven’t heard, I think it’s an exciting thing,” McCartney said in a statement. Starr added, “It was the closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room so it was very emotional for all of us. It was like John was there, you know. It’s far out.”
The Beatles’ “Now And Then” is set to release November 2.
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