UPDATE 3 Nov 2023: the song has now been released. Hear it HERE.
2 November 2023
Below: The short film Now And Then – the Last Beatles song
Now and Then will simultaneously arrive on streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Prime Music at 2pm today (Thursday) in London, which is 1am Friday in Melbourne and Sydney, and 10pm tonight in Perth. CD, vinyl and cassette copies will follow. From 10 November, the song will be included on the newly remastered and expanded versions of The Beatles’ Red and Blue greatest hits albums.
The Beatles’ explainer about the short film:
Now and Then‘s eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day.
The long mythologised John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project but it remained unfinished, partly because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s.
For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity.
A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team, used throughout the production of the documentary series Get Back, finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part. As a result, the original recording could be brought to life and worked on anew with contributions from all four Beatles.
This remarkable story of musical archaeology reflects The Beatles’ endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology. It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history.
CLIP: a short 12-minute film about how Now and Then came to be:
UPDATE 3 Nov 2023: the song has now been released. Hear it HERE.
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