Taylor Swift isn’t the only one cracking open her vault these days. The Beatles have released what’s being promoted as “the last Beatles song,†called “Now and Then.†The song, first teased by Paul McCartney earlier this year, comes from a demo that John Lennon recorded in the late 1970s. His widow, Yoko Ono, gave the track to McCartney in 1994, who worked on it with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, but they eventually shelved it because they couldn’t mix the song properly with Lennon’s vocals and piano.
That changed thanks to Peter Jackson’s 2021 docuseries, Get Back. Jackson was able to “de-mix†the individual elements of Lennon’s “Now and Then†demo, as he’d done for Get Back and a 2022 Revolver remaster, with audio-machine-learning technology. McCartney and Starr then finished the song, which also features a 1995 guitar recording from the late Harrison, a new strings arrangement from producer Giles Martin, and backing vocals from three past Beatles songs.
McCartney said in a statement that hearing Lennon’s voice again was “quite emotional,†and Starr called the experience “far out.†Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, added, “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.†In a full-circle touch, “Now and Then†will be released as a double A-side with the Beatles’ first song, “Love Me Do.â€