Fans of The Beatles just got their first taste of the new song “Now and Then.” The band shared a 12-minute short film, Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song, which reveals what went into the making of the track.
The film recounts how the new song came about, using a cassette recording given to The Beatles in 1994 by Yoko Ono, featuring three songs John Lennon recorded in the ’70s. The film features archival footage of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison in the recording studio in 1995, along with new interviews with McCartney, Ringo and Sean Ono Lennon.
“Making good music in a band is all about chemistry. The way our four personalities combined in The Beatles was something very special,” McCartney says in the film. “When we lost John we knew that it was really over, but in 1994, an interesting opportunity arose: We could make more music together.”
Ringo adds, “We could use John and try and make a record, it was the closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room.”
The doc explains why the song wasn’t completed in 1995 and how new technology helped director Peter Jackson extract John’s voice to finally complete the tune.
“All of those memories come flooding back. My God how lucky was I to have those men in my life and to work with those men so intimately and to come up with such a body of music,” McCartney says. “To still be working on Beatles music in 2023, wow.”
“Now and Then” will be released Thursday, November 2, at 10 a.m. ET., with the video to follow on Friday, November 3, at 10 a.m. ET.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
