Published 2023-10-30 06:00
As one of the biggest surprise releases in recent memory, The Beatles have announced a forthcoming single, “Now And Then”, the last official song by all of The Beatles. The song will be released worldwide at on Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 by Apple Corps Ltd, Capitol Records and Universal Music.
The song was written and sung by John Lennon, developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, and now finally finished by Paul and Ringo over 4 decades later.
The story of “Now And Then” begins in the late 1970's, when John 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.
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. That time has finally arrived.
The double A side single pairs the last Beatles song with the 1st, the band’s 1962 debut UK single, “Love Me Do”, a truly fitting full circle counterpart to “Now And Then”, Both songs are mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos, and the release features original cover art by renowned artist Ed Ruscha. The new music video for “Now And Then” will debut on Friday, November 3rd.
A 12 minute "Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song" documentary film, written and directed by Oliver Murray, will debut a day earlier, November 1st. The film’s global online premiere will be hosted on The Beatles’ YouTube channel. This poignant short film tells the story behind the last Beatles song, with exclusive footage and commentary from Paul, Ringo, George, Sean Ono Lennon, and Peter Jackson.
Along with the single, The Beatles’ beloved compilation albums "1962-1966 (The Red Album)" and "1967-1970 (The Blue Album)" collections will receive expanded reissues, also arriving on November 10th, 2023.
Since their 1973 debuts, "1962-1966 (The Red Album)" and "1967-1970 (The Blue Album)" have ushered countless listeners of all ages, from all parts of the world, into lifelong Beatles fandom.
Expanded for their new 2023 releases, the collections together span The Beatles’ entire recorded canon with 75 standout tracks, from their 1st single, “Love Me Do”, to their last, “Now And Then”. The collections’ 21 newly added tracks (12 on "Red" and 9 on "Blue") showcase even more of The Beatles’ very best songs.
Both collections will be available digitally on streaming, on 2 CD, 3 LP black vinyl sets, in addition to limited edition Beatles Store exclusives, a 3 LP colored vinyl set (red for "Red" and blue for "Blue"), a 4 CD slipcased set, a 180g 6 LP black vinyl slipcased set, and a 6 LP red + blue vinyl slipcased set.