The Beatles’ poignant ‘last ever song’, Now And Then, is on course to top the UK charts – making it the Fab Four’s 18th number one single and the band’s first chart-topper in 54 years
The Beatles are on course to achieve their 18th number one single after their ‘last recorded’ song surpassed the rest of the top five combined on its opening weekend.
Now And Then was originally written by the late John Lennon and developed by his fellow band members, including the late George Harrison.
But thanks to advances in technology, it’s finally ready and after its release on Thursday, it will become another Fab Four number one single, according to the Official Chart Company’s first look.
It would also be their first chart success in 54 years, the last being The Ballad Of John And Yoko in 1969.
Now And Then was originally written by the late John Lennon and developed by his bandmates
Sir Paul McCartney pictured in the 1990s with George Harrison, who performed the guitar song in 1995 before dying in 2001
The clip – directed by the critically acclaimed Peter Jackson – combines moving archive footage of the Fab Four with footage of Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr recording new segments for the song.
The stunning video for the new Beatles song Now and Then has been released online
Other previous number one songs include classics like Hey Jude, All You Need Is Love, Yellow Submarine, Help! and Love Me Do – their first number one hit.
The remastered song comes from a Lennon demo recorded at his home in New York’s Dakota Building in the late 1970s.
After his death in 1980 at the age of 40, Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono gave the recording to the surviving Beatles in 1994, along with Free As A Bird and Real Love, which were released by the band in the same decade.
During this period, Harrison, Sir Paul and Sir Ringo recorded new cuts and completed a rough mix for Now And Then with producer and musician Jeff Lynne.
However, the band did not release the song, citing issues related to extracting Lennon’s vocals and piano due to limited technology at the time. Harrison later died in November 2001 at the age of 58.
Filmmaker Peter Jackson’s recent Beatles documentary used audio restoration technology that allowed the band’s vocals, music and conversations to be isolated, a technique later used for Now And Then.
It contains the earliest ever footage of the band, filmed in a church hall in Merseyside in 1962, before they became the world’s most famous rock stars and manager Brian Epstein convinced them all to wear smart suits.
The final scene in the video shows the Beatles bowing before disappearing and the camera cutting to black
The footage comes courtesy of the band’s original drummer, Pete Best, and his brother Roag. Pictured are the Beatles, including Pete Best on drums
The Fab Four: (clockwise from far left) George Harrison, Ringo Starr (on drums), Sir Paul McCartney, John Lennon in New York in 1964
The song, which features Harrison’s electric and acoustic guitar, recorded in 1995, was completed last year by Sir Paul and Sir Ringo.
Jackson has also created a music video for the song, which reunites the Fab Four as Lennon and Harrison play instruments alongside recent footage of surviving members Sir Paul and Sir Ringo.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Sir Paul said: ‘I like the idea of not letting go of each other.
“You know, when you have someone you love so much. In many cases it is a family member, and even if they go, you don’t want to let them go – that’s what people say when someone dies.
‘They are in your memory, always in your heart. And yes, that certainly applies to me and the boys.’
Reflecting on how he would like the band to be remembered, he added: ‘I remember the Beatles, I remember joy, talent, humor and love.
“And if people remember us for those things, I would be very happy.”
Sir Ringo said he would like the group to be remembered ‘fondly’.
The drummer added, “How many streams did we do last year? A billion? Three billion? It blows me away. The beat’s still going, you know?’
Emotional fans took to social media to applaud the “compelling, emotional and moving” music video for The Beatles’ latest song.
Using CGI, the clip – directed by Peter Jackson – cleverly reunites Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr with the dearly departed John Lennon and George Harrison.
One fan called it ‘so compelling, emotional and moving. Fantastic work from everyone involved.’ Another wrote: ‘Honestly so emotional! Their last work together…’
Another wrote: ‘Honestly so emotional! Their last work together…’
The video contains the earliest ever footage of the band, filmed in a church hall in Merseyside in 1962, before they became the world’s most famous rock stars and manager Brian Epstein convinced them to all wear smart suits.
Pete Best, The Beatles’ drummer before Ringo stardom, handed over the movie camera footage – showing the leather-clad group – to his former band with the help of his brother Roag.
Roag said he bought the silent footage from a man who filmed the performance at St Paul’s Presbyterian Church Hall in Birkenhead in February 1962, eight months before they released their debut single.