The Beatles have officially released their “final” song “Now And Then.” You can stream that track below:
Further information was shared in a press release:
“The story of ‘Now And Then’ begins in the late 1970s, when John [Lennon] recorded a demo with vocals and piano at his home in New York’s Dakota Building. In 1994, his wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, gave the recording to Paul [McCartney], George [Harrison] and Ringo [Starr], along with John’s demos for ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love,’ which were both completed as new Beatles songs and respectively released as singles in 1995 and 1996, as part of The Beatles Anthology project. At the same time, Paul, George and Ringo also recorded new parts and completed a rough mix for ‘Now And Then’ with producer Jeff Lynne. At that point, technological limitations prevented John’s vocals and piano from being separated to achieve the clear, unclouded mix needed to finish the song. ‘Now And Then’ was shelved, with a hope that one day it would be revisited.
In 2022, Paul and Ringo set about completing the song. Besides John’s vocal, ‘Now And Then’ includes electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by George, Ringo’s new drum part, and bass, guitar and piano from Paul, which matches John’s original playing. Paul added a slide guitar solo inspired by George; he and Ringo also contributed backing vocals to the chorus.”
Vinyl and cassette releases featuring “Now And Then” and “Love Me Do” will be available at a later date. The new single will also be available as part of the new expanded editions of the “Red” and “Blue” albums (out November 10).
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