The last ever Beatles song, “Now and Then,” will arrive next week.
A short documentary film about the making of the song will be released on Nov. 1, and the track itself will be available to listen to on Nov. 2, followed by a music video made by Peter Jackson on Nov. 3.
All four Beatles — John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — can be heard on the track.
Ahead of those dates, a short trailer about the making of “Now and Then” is available for viewing below. Additionally, the “Now and Then” / “Love Me Do” double A-side single can be pre-ordered here.
Finally, new editions of the Beatles’ career-spanning compilations 1962-1966 (“The Red Album”) and 1967-1970 (“The Blue Album”), will arrive on Nov. 10.
How ‘Now and Then’ Came to Be
In 1994, the three remaining Beatles gathered in the studio, with producer Jeff Lynne, to work on a couple of demo tapes Lennon had recorded before his death, given to the rest of the band by Yoko Ono. From these sessions came “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which appeared on Anthology 1 and Anthology 2, respectively.
READ MORE: 20 Beatles Songs That John Lennon Hated
“Now and Then” was also worked on at this time, but ultimately shelved. Close to three decades later, McCartney and Starr revisited the track, with the assistance of Jackson, who utilized the same de-mixing technology he’d used for the 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back. Jackson and his team were able to separate Lennon’s vocal from the other sounds on the demo tape so that it could be properly remixed in a new song.
Though McCartney plays the slide guitar solo on the completed “Now and Then,” the acoustic guitar parts are by Harrison, taken from the original mid-90s sessions with Lynne.
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
