Together and apart, The Beatles have always had a talent for the unexpected. And now, 2023 brings one of the most anticipated releases of their long and endlessly eventful history. "Now And Then" is the last Beatles song written and sung by John Lennon, developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and now finally finished by Paul and Ringo over four decades later.
"Now And Then" will be released worldwide at 2 PM, GMT / 10 AM, EDT / 7 AM, PDT on Thursday, November 2 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe/Universal Music Canada. The double A-side single pairs the last Beatles song with the first: the bands 1962 debut UK single, Love Me Do, a truly fitting full-circle counterpart to "Now And Then". Both songs are mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos, and the release features original cover art by renowned artist Ed Ruscha. The new music video for "Now And Then" will debut on Friday, November 3rd. More details including global premiere plans will be announced.
A 12-minute "Now And Then" - The Last Beatles Song documentary film, written and directed by Oliver Murray, will premiere on November 1. The films global online premiere will be hosted on The Beatles YouTube channel at 7:30 PM, GMT / 3:30 PM, EDT / 12:30 PM, PDT. This poignant short film tells the story behind the last Beatles song, with exclusive footage and commentary from Paul, Ringo, George, Sean Ono Lennon and Peter Jackson. The trailer is available to watch now.
Pre-order/pre-save "Now And Then"/ "Love Me Do" double A-side single here.
On November 10th, The Beatles 1962-1966 (The Red Album) and 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) collections will be released in 2023 Edition packages by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe/Universal Music Canada. Since their first incarnations appeared 50 years ago, these albums have introduced successive generations to The Beatles music. Now, both collections tracklists have been expanded, with all the songs mixed in true stereo and Dolby Atmos. New 4CD and 180-gram 6LP vinyl collections pair Red and Blue in slipcased sets. The UK single version of "Love Me Do" now kicks off 1962-1966 (2023 Edition), and "Now And Then" is featured on 1967-1970 (2023 Edition) to complete the career-spanning collections.
Pre-order/pre-save 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 (2023 Editions) and view the complete tracklistings here
The story of "Now And Then" begins in the late 1970s, when John recorded a demo with vocals and piano at his home in New Yorks Dakota Building. In 1994, his wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, gave the recording to Paul, George and Ringo, along with Johns 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 Johns 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.
Cut to 2021, and the release of The Beatles: Get Back docuseries, directed by Peter Jackson, which astonished viewers with its award-winning film and audio restoration. Using WingNut Films MAL audio technology, Jacksons team had de-mixed the films mono soundtrack, managing to isolate instruments and vocals, and all the individual voices within The Beatles conversations. This achievement opened the way to 2022s new mix of Revolver, sourced directly from the four-track master tapes. This led on to a question: what could now be done with the "Now And Then" demo? Peter Jackson and his sound team, led by Emile de la Rey, applied the same technique to Johns original home recording, preserving the clarity and integrity of his original vocal performance by separating it from the piano.
In 2022, Paul and Ringo set about completing the song. Besides Johns vocal, "Now And Then" includes electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by George, Ringos new drum part, and bass, guitar and piano from Paul, which matches Johns original playing. Paul added a slide guitar solo inspired by George; he and Ringo also contributed backing vocals to the chorus.
In Los Angeles, Paul oversaw a Capitol Studios recording session for the songs wistful, quintessentially Beatles string arrangement, written by Giles Martin, Paul and Ben Foster. Paul and Giles also added one last, wonderfully subtle touch: backing vocals from the original recordings of "Here, There And Everywhere", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Because", woven into the new song using the techniques perfected during the making of the LOVE show and album. The finished track was produced by Paul and Giles, and mixed by Spike Stent.
Paul says: "There it was, Johns 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."
Ringo says: "It was the closest well 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."
Olivia Harrison says: "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'."
Sean Ono Lennon says: "It was incredibly touching to hear them working together after all the years that Dad had been gone. Its the last song my dad, Paul, George and Ringo got to make together. Its like a time capsule and all feels very meant to be."
Excitement and anticipation for "Now And Then" has been building since June, when Paul first teased a new Beatles song in a media interview. Finally, on Thursday, November 2, "Now And Then" will be shared with the world as it was always meant to be heard.
This last instalment of The Beatles recorded history will be followed by new editions of the two compilation albums always seen as the definitive introduction to their work. Since their 1973 debuts, 1962-1966 (The Red Album) and 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) collections have ushered countless listeners of all ages, from all parts of the world, into lifelong Beatles fandom. Expanded for their new 2023 Edition releases (out November 10), the collections together span The Beatles entire recorded canon with 75 standout tracks, from their first single, "Love Me Do", to their last, "Now And Then". The collections 21 newly-added tracks (twelve on Red , and nine on Blue) showcase even more of The Beatles very best songs.
In recent years, several 1967-1970 tracks and a few from 1962-1966 have received new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes for The Beatles Special Edition album releases, including Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017), The Beatles (White Album) (2018), Abbey Road (2019), Let It Be (2021), and Revolver (2022), as well as new stereo mixes for The Beatles 1 (2015). All tracks not also featured on those releases have been newly mixed in stereo and/or Dolby Atmos by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios, aided by WingNut Films audio de-mixing technology. Both collections include new essays written by journalist and author John Harris.
(Photo - Apple Corps Ltd.)
