Beatles fans hail new song Now And Then as a masterpiece and Liam Gallagher ... trends now
Emotional Beatles fans have expressed their joy at the release of Now And Then - their 'masterpiece' new and final song debuted this afternoon on the BBC after 45 years in the making.
43 years after John Lennon's death – and more than two decades on from George Harrison's passing – The Beatles have come together again with the help of AI.
Today at 2pm, the band's 'new' single Now and Then was released to the exultation and excitement of tens of millions of excited fans. Listening parties have been held all over the world, including in their home city of Liverpool.
Liam Gallagher tweeted: 'Now n Then absolutely incredible biblical celestial heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time long live The Beatles LG x'
Last night, surviving Beatles Sir Paul McCartney, 81, and Sir Ringo Starr, 83, released a short film expanding on how they made the track, written by Lennon. John began recording the vocals in the late 1970s and 14 years after he was shot dead in 1980, his widow Yoko Ono gave the tapes to Paul.
The technical issues with turning the vocals into a complete track were considered insurmountable by George, who died in 2001. But the feat has now been accomplished with the help of artificial intelligence technology that was used to better isolate John's voice.
Paul and Ringo then added new parts, including drums, bass, backing vocals and a slide guitar solo inspired by George.
Back in the studio! The Beatles have released a short film revealing how they made their last song together 43 years after John Lennon 's death (Paul McCartney pictured in the 1990s)
Demo: The band are releasing the track, Now and Then, which late singer John began recording in the late 1970s before it was unearthed by his wife in the Nineties (pictured)
Referencing George Harrison 's death, he said: 'In 2001 we lost George, which took the wind out of our sails, it took almost a quarter of a century before we tackled Now and Then again'
Liam Gallagher led the reviews, and loved it
Talking on the short film which premiered on the One Show on Wednesday, Sir Paul said: 'When we lost John we knew it was really over.'
He added: 'In 2001 we lost George, which took the wind out of our sails, it took almost a quarter of a century before we tackled Now and Then again.'
Using new technology, which was used during the production of docu-series Get Back, the band were able to separate voices and instruments, giving them hope of working on the track again.
Speaking about hearing John's voice again for the first time, 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.'
A video of John recording the demo at his home in New York's Dakota Building was given to the rest of the the band in 1994.
It included 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.
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.
At that point, technological limitations prevented John's vocals and piano from being separated to achieve the clear, unclouded mix needed to finish the song.
Now and Then was shelved, with a hope that one day it would be revisited.
In 2021, docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, directed by Peter Jackson, was released and viewers were stunned by its award-winning film and audio
