The Beatles – Now And Then

Name: The Beatles - Now And Then
Uploaded: 2023-11-11T00:31:35+02:00
Channel: Radio Flora TM
Description: FILE - In this Aug. 23, 1966 file photo, The Beatles, from left, Ringo Starr; Paul McCartney; John Lennon; and George Harrison appear at a press conference in

November 11, 2023 13

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 1966 file photo, The Beatles, from left, Ringo Starr; Paul McCartney; John Lennon; and George Harrison appear at a press conference in New York. (AP Photo) — FILE – In this Aug. 23, 1966 file photo, The Beatles, from left, Ringo Starr; Paul McCartney; John Lennon; and George Harrison appear at a press conference in New York. (AP Photo)

With all the hoopla around “Now and Then” — which has been officially billed as “The Last Beatles Song” and erroneously described as the legendary group’s “first new song in 50 years” — some reality-checking is in order.

Yes, it is a “new” Beatles song in that all four members, including the late John Lennon and George Harrison, play and sing on a previously unreleased composition. But it is not some long-lost “Abbey Road” outtake (those were all exhumed long ago), and in reality even Lennon’s part was recorded and presumably written many years after the Beatles broke up.

“Now and Then” has a similar provenance as “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” the other two “new” Beatles songs to have been released since 1970: All are rough Lennon home demos recorded during the late 1970s and provided by his wife Yoko Ono in 1994 for the surviving members to complete.

The Beatles – Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song (Short Film)

Watch the 12-minute documentary film which tells the story behind the last Beatles song, with exclusive footage and commentary from Paul, Ringo, George, Sean Ono Lennon and Peter Jackson.
‘Now and Then’s eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day. The long mythologised John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project but it remained unfinished, partly because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s.

For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity. A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team, used throughout the production of the documentary series Get Back, finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part.

The short-film tells the story of the original recording being brought back to life with contributions from all four Beatles – marking the completion of the last recording that John, Paul, George and Ringo will get to make together.