The Beatles will release their ‘final’ song next week thanks to the help of AI technology, marking 50 years since the band broke up.
The song, titled Now and Then, is based on a 1970s demo record that Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Star have worked on over the past four decades.
With the help of artificial intelligence, they managed to extract John Lennon’s vocals from an old demo to complete the song.
News of the final issue was announced earlier this summer, but it has now been confirmed that the issue will premiere on November 2 at 2pm.
It will also be available on a newly mastered version of the band’s Red and Blue album, due out on November 10.
Finally here: The Beatles ’emotional’ as ‘final’ song Now and Then will be released next week and will feature John Lennon’s vocals thanks to AI technology
Work in progress: The song, titled Now and Then, is based on a 1970s demo record that Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Star have been working on over the past four decades
Technological advances: Using artificial intelligence, they managed to ‘tease’ John Lennon’s vocals from an old demo to complete the song (pictured in 1964)
Now And Then was one of many songs Lennon recorded shortly before his death in 1980.
Two of the other songs – Free As A Bird and Real Love – were cleaned up by producer Jeff Lynne before being released in 1995 and 1996.
But he struggled to clear Now And Then, and his attempt was deemed ‘nonsense’ by George Harrison, who refused to work on it.
However, AI technology has given McCartney a new way to bring the song back to life.
With the help of artificial intelligence director Peter Jackson solved these problems by ‘separating’ Lennon’s original vocals from a piano used in the late 1970s.
“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear,” Paul said in the announcement. ‘It’s quite emotional. And we all play on it, it’s a real Beatles recording.
“To still be working on Beatles music in 2023 and about to release a new song that the public hasn’t heard yet, I think it’s quite exciting.”
Meanwhile, George’s widow, Olivia, said that in the 1990s, George felt that technical difficulties made it impossible to release a song that met the band’s standards.
With the improvements, he “would have wholeheartedly” completed the song with Paul and Ringo if he were alive, she said.
The last song: The Beatles, foreground from left, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr on drums perform on the CBS ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ in New York on February 9, 1964
The much clearer vocals allowed Paul and Ringo to complete the song last year, much to the excitement of The Beatles fans.
The survivors put a lot into it. The new single features guitar that Harrison recorded nearly thirty years ago, a new drum part by Starr, with McCartney’s bass, piano and a slide guitar solo that he added as a tribute to Harrison, who died in 2001.
The two remaining live members also sing backup on the track.
Paul also added a string arrangement, written with the help of Giles Martinson of the late Beatles producer George Martin.
As if that wasn’t enough, they added background vocals from the original Beatles recordings of ‘Here, There and Everywhere’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Because’.
This Wednesday, the day before the song’s release, a 12 minute film that tells the story of the new recording will be made public.
Expanded versions of the Beatles compilations ‘1962-1966’ and ‘1967-1970’ will be released later this month. ‘Now And Then’, despite being released much later than 1970, will be added to the latter collection.
The surviving Beatles have skillfully released new projects, such as remixes of their old albums with studio outtakes and Jackson’s albums. ‘Get Back’ movieusually timed to appeal to nostalgic fans around the holidays.
But this will be the last.
“This is the last song ever where you get the four Beatles on the song. John, Paul, George and Ringo,” the latter said in one recent interview with the Associated Press.