More than 53 years after the group’s separation, an unreleased Beatles song, written by John Lennon and completely unknown to the general public, will be released on November 2.
The song is called Now And Thenand it was written by John Lennon in the 1970s. In addition to his solo release, the song will be part of the new edition of Blue Album by the Beatles (1967-1970), on sale from November 10.
“In 2023, I’m still working on Beatles music and I’m about to release a new song that the public hasn’t heard, I think that’s an exciting thing,” said Paul McCartney, in a press release published Thursday morning.
PHOTO SCOTT AUDETTE, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Paul McCartney
The story of the new song begins in the late 1970s, in New York. John Lennon recorded a demo of the song in his New York home, some time before his assassination in 1980.
His wife, Yoko Ono, released the recording of Now And Then to the other members of the group in 1994, at the same time as those of Free As A Bird And Real Love – two songs that were the subject of singles in 1995 and 1996. At the time, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had recorded new parts of Now And Thenin the hope of being able to complete it.
“At this point, technological limitations prevented John’s vocals and piano from being separated to achieve a clear, unclouded mix, which was necessary to complete the song,” Universal Music wrote in the release. Now And Then was therefore put on ice.
PHOTO CHRIS PIZZELLO, INVISION ARCHIVES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ringo Starr
Technology continued to evolve. In 2021, the team of the documentary series The Beatles: Get Back did wonders in isolating instruments and vocals from old Beatles recordings. The director, Peter Jackson, applied the same technique to the original demo of Now And Then recorded by John Lennon. And he managed to “preserve the clarity and integrity” of Lennon’s voice, separating it from the piano.
The two band survivors completed the song in 2022: Paul on piano and guitar, and Ringo on drums. Both also recorded their vocals in the background. The team even included guitar parts recorded by George in 1995.
“It was there, John’s voice, crystal clear,” Paul McCartney said. It’s quite moving. And we all play on it. This is a real Beatles recording. “It was like John was there,” Ringo Starr said.