Excitement builds ahead of 'last' Beatles song Now and Then

The final song by the Beatles, Now and Then, is being released at 2pm today, Thursday November 2, a historic moment for fans of, arguably, the greatest bands of all time.

Coming 50 years after the fab four went their separate ways, and with only half of the band's members still surviving, it is a poignant moment in rock history.

Now and Then features musical contributions from all four members, including guitar recorded by the late George Harrison in 1995, and vocals by John Lennon drawn from the song’s original late-70s demo.

It was written and sung by Lennon at his home in New York City’s Dakota building, where he was murdered in 1980.

A 12-minute documentary titled Now And Then: The Last Beatles Song has also been released and tells the story of how Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr worked with Apple Corps and film maker Peter Jackson to bring the song into the 21st century.

"Paul called me up and said he'd like to work on Now and Then. What do you think? I think it's great," says Ringo Starr. "So, he put the bass on, he sent the files to me, and I put the drums on."

"It really brought it on," adds Paul McCartney. "So, now we had a track that was really starting to cook. I'd been vaguely thinking that strings might be a good thing. The Beatles did lots of strings in Strawberry Fields, Yesterday, I Am The Walrus."

With the help of AI, Now and Then has been brought technologically up to date, but as McCartney points out, “nothing has been artificially or synthetically created".

“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,” continues McCartney.

As well as the new song, the re-release of the band’s Red and Blue albums comes next week, marking the 60th anniversary of The Beatles only ever Irish concerts in Dublin and Belfast.