The Beatles to release new song with all FOUR stars – after AI brings John Lennon and George Harrison back to life
THE Beatles’ final ever song will be released next week – with the legendary group yesterday confirming all of the fab four will feature on the record.
Titled Now and Then, the last ever song by the Liverpool band has taken almost five decades to complete, but was finally made possible with new technology developed by legendary film director Peter Jackson.
It means a demo of vocals recorded by John Lennon in the 1970s, found on a tape titled “For Paul” by his widow Yoko and handed to his bandmates after his death could be used for the first time.
Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr returned to the studio last year to add their own parts, while a recording of George Harrison performing a guitar part to the song from an earlier attempt in 1994 has also been added in what will be the last occasion the band members appear on record together.
Released at 2pm next Thursday, a documentary film telling the story of the song’s creation will premiere globally the night before featuring commentary from Paul, Ringo, George and John’s son Sean Ono Lennon.
In 2022, inspired by the success of Jackson’s work on the seminal Get Back documentary, Paul joined producer Giles Martin – son of George Martin who famously masterminded the group’s albums in their heyday – to create the final track, which features a wistful strings arrangement.
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Telling how the astonishing new technology was able to extract John’s voice from the grainy tape, Paul, 81, explains: “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.”
Drummer Ringo, 83, adds: “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 record was also produced with the support of George and John’s families, who recalled how an earlier attempt to produce the record in the Nineties had proven unsuccessful.
Two other tracks on the previously unheard tape, titled Free As A Bird and Real Love, were finished – but the final recording was deemed unusable due to the faded audio quality.
George’s daughter, Olivia Harrison, explains: “Back in 1995, after several days in the studio working on the track, George felt the technical issues with the demo were insurmountable and concluded that it was not possible to finish the track to a high enough standard.
“If he were here today, Dhani and I know he would have whole-heartedly joined Paul and Ringo in completing the recording of ‘Now And Then’.”
And Sean adds: “It was incredibly touching to hear them working together after all the years that Dad had been gone. It’s the last song my dad, Paul, George and Ringo got to make together.
“It’s like a time capsule and all feels very meant to be.”