After more than 50 years since the disbandment of The Beatles, a "last" song from the greatest band in modern music history is set to be released, called "Now And Then."
John Lennon, who was shot to death in 1980, penned and recorded the song during the late 1970s. In the mid-1990s, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison, who passed away in 2001, collaborated on the song.
However, it took four decades for McCartney and Starr to finally complete the piece.
"The long mythologized 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," The Beatles official YouTube account wrote.
But, it added, software system developed by filmmaker Peter Jackson (of The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and his team played a crucial role in bringing back Lennon's original recording.
Creative curiosity
The song highlights the band's "endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology," since Lennon's voice was preserved with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
"It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul, George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history," the official YouTube notes concluded.
In a press release, McCartney commented on how the whole journey to bringing the song to life was an "emotional" experience for him.
"There it was, John's voice, crystal clear… It's quite emotional… 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."
"It was the closest we'll 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," added Starr.
Before the release of the much-awaited track, a 12-minute documentary film titled Now and Then — The Last Beatles Song will be released on 1 November. The short film will reflect the song's history, accompanied by exclusive footage and commentary from McCartney and Starr, Lennon and Yoko Ono's son Seon Ono Lennon, and Jackson.
"Now And Then" will stream globally on 2 November.
