The Beatles' last ever song sung by John Lennon will be released next week

26 October 2023 , 13:00

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The last ever song recorded by The Beatles will be released next week – with Sir Paul McCartney describing it as "genuine" and "exciting".

Fans will get to hear Now And Then on November 2 after a recording process that started in the late Seventies with John Lennon and ended with Ringo Starr and Sir Paul in the studio last year. The track is written and sung by John Lennon, developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1995, and now finally finished by Paul and Ringo over four decades later.

New technology has enabled the demo recording of Lennon to be cleaned up and used, after it was previously thought the quality was not good enough to release it.

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The track is written and sung by John Lennon (Michael Ochs Archives)

Sir Paul, 81, said: "There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear. It’s quite emotional. 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."

George's widow Olivia Harrison said: "Back in 1995, after several days in the studio working on the track, George felt the technical issues with the demo were insurmountable and concluded that it was not possible to finish the track to a high enough standard.

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"If he were here today, Dhani and I know he would have whole-heartedly joined Paul and Ringo in completing the recording of Now And Then." The song's origins begin in the late 70s when Lennon recorded a demo with vocals and piano at his home in New York’s Dakota Building.

In 1994, his wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, gave the recording to Paul, George and Ringo, along with John’s demos for Free As A Bird and Real Love, which were both completed as new Beatles songs and respectively released as singles in 1995 and 1996, as part of The Beatles Anthology project.

The Beatles' last ever song sung by John Lennon will be released next week

The track was finished by Paul and Ringo over four decades later (YouTube)

At the same time, Paul, George and Ringo also recorded new parts and completed a rough mix for Now And Then with producer Jeff Lynne. But the recording quality of the vocal was not up to scratch with background noise and static meaning plans to release it were shelved.

Fast forward to 2021, and the release of The Beatles: Get Back documentary series, directed by Peter Jackson, with its award-winning film and audio restoration. Using WingNut Films’ MAL audio technology, Jackson’s team had de-mixed the film’s mono soundtrack, managing to isolate instruments and vocals, and all the individual voices within The Beatles conversations.

This led to discussions about whether the same technology could be used on John's Now And Then demo. Jackson and his sound team, led by Emile de la Rey, applied the same technique to John’s original home recording, preserving the clarity and integrity of his original vocal performance by separating it from the piano.

In 2022, Paul and Ringo set about completing the song. Besides John’s vocals, Now And Then includes electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by George, Ringo’s new drum part, and bass, guitar and piano from Paul, which matches John’s original playing.

Paul added a slide guitar solo inspired by George (Michael Ochs Archives)

Paul added a slide guitar solo inspired by George; he and Ringo also contributed backing vocals to the chorus. Ringo said: "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."

John's son Sean Ono Lennon added: "It was incredibly touching to hear them working together after all the years that Dad had been gone. It’s the last song my dad, Paul, George and Ringo got to make together. It’s like a time capsule and all feels very meant to be."

The track also features a "quintessentially Beatles string arrangement" recorded in 2022 as well as backing vocals from the original recordings of Here, There And Everywhere, Eleanor Rigby and Because, woven into the new song using new technology.

The song will be released as a double A-side single pairing the last Beatles song with the first: the band’s 1962 debut UK single, Love Me Do. A 12-minute documentary film about the song and its long and winding road to being released, will premiere on November 1 on The Beatles' YouTube channel and will also be seen on BBC1.