The Beatles are back baby! A demo gifted by Yoko has had a makeover care of Peter Jacksons WingNut tech.
Sixty-one years from their wide-eyed debut, scouse sensation The Beatles have announced their final song “Now and Then,” a discarded demo of John Lennon’s.
Employing WingNut Films’ MAL audio technology (also featured in the 2021 docuseries The Beatles: Get Back), this historic production resurrects the vocals of John and George Harrison in a poignant reunion.
“Now and Then” will be released worldwide on November 2nd at 2pm GMT / Nov. 3rd at 1am AEDT.
John recorded “Now and Then” from his Manhattan home in the penultimate year of his life. The demo was gifted to the remaining three Beatles by Yoko Ono on cassette tape in the mid-nineties, compiled among such other works as “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.”
George recorded a guitar part for the song in 1995, but felt that it was “not possible to finish the track to a high-enough standard” in the words of his widow Olivia, declaring that the technical issues of “Now and Then” rendered it unable to be worked with.
In the three decades that have since passed, the capabilities of audio technology have greatly expanded, and at last the final mix of “Now and Then” can come to us in full colour.
The updated arrangement features Paul on bass, piano, and guitar, and Ringo on the drums, and a string section. George’s aforementioned guitar part is worked into the track, and Paul mirrors John’s 1979 recording on the keys.
On “Now and Then”, the backing vocals of “Here, There and Everywhere”, “Eleanor Rigby”, and “Because” are entwined into its own, reflecting on the unparalleled legacy The Beatles have left behind.
“It’s quite emotional,” Paul says, “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”. The release of this single coincides with the reissue of the fab fours’ career-spanning 1962-1966 (‘The Red Album’) and 1967-1970 (‘The Blue Album’) compilation albums, featuring an additional twenty-one tracks (twelve and nine, respectively).
The double A-side single “Now And Then”/ “Love Me Do” is available for pre-order here
- stereo mixes:
- digital; streaming; 7-inch black & coloured vinyl (light blue, clear); 12-inch black vinyl limited edition Beatles Store-exclusives: cassette; 7-inch blue & white marbled vinyl
- Dolby Atmos mixes: digital; streaming
1962-1966 and 1967-1970 (2023 Editions) are available for pre-order here
- stereo mixes
- both collections: digital; streaming; 2CD; 180g 3LP black vinyl
- both collections: limited edition Beatles Store-exclusives: 3LP coloured vinyl (red for ‘Red’/blue for ‘Blue’); 4CD slipcased set; 180g 6LP black vinyl slipcased set; 6LP red + blue vinyl slipcased set
- Dolby Atmos mixes: digital; streaming
By Harrison Jones.
