‘Now And Then’: The Beatles announce plans to release last new song

The Beatles announced that they will be releasing the “last Beatles song” on Nov. 2 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Now And Then” comes from a batch of unreleased demos that the late John Lennon wrote. The songs have been turned into “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” by Lennon’s former bandmates, according to The Associated Press. Those two songs were not released until the mid-1990s.

The other three Beatles, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, had worked together on “Now And Then” in the same sessions but were limited due to technology, the AP reported.

Director Peter Jackson along with the help of artificial intelligence or AI, was able to separate Lennon’s original vocals recorded in the 1970s to be separated out and made clearer, according to the AP. Once these vocals became clearer, McCartney and Starr were able to complete the song last year.

(1/6) “NOW AND THEN. THE LAST BEATLES SONG. OUT 02.11.23. #NowAndThen
New expanded and mixed editions of the "Red and Blue" albums to be released 10.11.23.
Pre-order now: https://t.co/jQtFaz4Tq8 pic.twitter.com/aLS2C046Pu
— The Beatles (@thebeatles) October 26, 2023

The new song has Harrison on guitar which was recorded close to 30 years ago, Starr on drums which is new and McCartney on bass and piano. According to the AP, McCartney also had a guitar solo added that paid tribute to Harrison. Harrison died in 2001.

Plus, McCartney and Starr sang backup on the track, according to the AP.

“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear,” McCartney said in a news release obtained by Entertainment Weekly. “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 quite an exciting thing.”

“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,” Starr added, according to Entertainment Weekly.

The new track will be paired with “Love Me Do” which was the first Beatles single that came out in 1962, the AP reported.

A 12-minute film is expected to be released next Wednesday the day before the new track comes out, the AP reported. It tells the story behind how the new song came to be.