The Beatles To Release Final Song 'Now And Then' Next Week

Four months after Paul McCartney hinted at releasing the “final” The Beatles record that was speculated to be Now And Then – a previously lost track recorded by John Lennon in 1978 and was meant to be a reunion track for the band in 1995, it’s official and will be released next week (Friday, 3 November).

Hitting streaming services globally at 1 am AEDT, the song that was written and sung by Lennon, worked on by bandmates Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison and completed by McCartney and Starr four decades later, will be released as a double A-side with their first-ever UK single, 1962’s Love Me Do. Pre-order/pre-save the release here.

The tracks have been remixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos, with a music video for Now And Then landing on Friday, 3 November.

In addition to releasing the final single, The Beatles will unveil a 12-minute documentary film, Now And Then - The Last Beatles Song, written and directed by Oliver Murray. You can watch the trailer below before the documentary arrives on YouTube on 1 November.

Now And Then will also feature on the new 2023 Edition packages of the Beatles expansive greatest hits albums, 1962-1966 (The Red Album) and 1967-1970 (The Blue Album), which will be released in new 4CD and 180-gram 6LP vinyl collections on Friday, 10 November. You can pre-order/pre-save the greatest hits release here.

“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear,” Paul McCartney commented in a press release. “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.”

Ringo Starr added, “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.”

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. 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.”

Sean Ono Lennon concluded, “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.”