Following the release of the Beatles’ final single, ‘Now and Then,’ Paul McCartney shared how he kept the song a hidden gem from studio musicians in the short film titled ‘Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song.’
‘Now And Then’ started as a demo tape by John Lennon. Using AI technology, his vocals were isolated. McCartney, Ringo Starr, producers Jeff Lynne, and George Martin’s son Giles Martin then expanded the song. During the process, Paul remembered adding a string arrangement at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in one part of the film. Still, they tried to maintain its secrecy, as he explained:
“Giles worked up an arrangement like Giles’ dad would have done in the old days. We had to put the music out on the stands for the musicians, but we couldn’t tell them it was a new Beatles song. It was all a bit hush-hush. We pretended it was just something of mine.”
Clearing Up The AI Speculation About Lennon’s Voice
When the first news about the track broke out, some questioned if Lennon’s voice on the track was genuine or AI created his sound. McCartney shared in a previous tweet that the technology was used solely to clean up the demos. He said the following to clear the situation:
“Been great to see such an exciting response to our forthcoming Beatles project. No one is more excited than us to be sharing something with you later in the year. We’ve seen some confusion and speculation about it. Seems to be a lot of guesswork out there. I can’t say too much at this stage, but to be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created. It’s all real, and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings – a process that has gone on for years. We hope you love it as much as we do. More news in due course.”
Starr also confirmed later that the vocals belonged to the late Beatles singer, speaking to the Associated Press in September.
Upcoming Music Video And Releases
A music video, the first directed by Peter Jackson, is set to be released on November 3. It will feature new and recently discovered footage of McCartney and Starr, along with all four Beatles. On November 10, the Beatles will release expanded versions of ‘1962-1966 (The Red Album)’ and ‘1967-1970 (The Blue Album)’ with stereo and Dolby mixes.
Belo, you can both listen to the song and watch the short film.
