Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Announce AI-Assisted Beatles Song to be Released on November 2nd
Former Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announced on Thursday that a highly anticipated Beatles record, produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence, is set to be released on November 2.
First written and sung by ex-Beatle John Lennon and developed by the rest of the band, “Now And Then” has now finally been finished by McCartney and Starr – and artificial intelligence – decades after it was originally recorded.
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McCartney, 81, announced the upcoming release in June of what a promotional trailer described as “the last Beatles song.”
Apple Corps, Capitol and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) will unveil the song at 13:00 GMT on November 2, with the music video debuting the following day.
The 12-minute documentary, written and directed by Oliver Murray – best known for his 2022 biographical mini-series on The Rolling Stones – will premiere on YouTube in the evening, before featuring commentary from McCartney and Starr.
“Now And Then” was recorded by Lennon in the late 1970s at his home in New York’s Dakota Building and also features piano music.
Working with Peter Jackson, the filmmaker behind the 2021 documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back,” artificial intelligence was used to separate Lennon’s voice from the piano chords.
– “Emotional” –
“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear,” McCartney said in comments posted with the release date announcement.
“It’s quite emotional and we all play it, it’s a genuine Beatles recording,” he added.
“To be still working on Beatles music in 2023 and releasing a new song that the public hasn’t heard is something I think is exciting.”
McCartney and Starr finished the song last year, including ex-Beatle George Harrison’s electric and acoustic guitar, which was recorded in 1995.
Recording at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, they also added Starr’s drum part on bass, piano, McCartney’s slide guitar solo – inspired by Harrison – and more backing vocals.
Starr added that the process “was the closest we ever got to getting him (Lennon) back in the room, so it was very emotional for all of us.
“It was like John was there, you know. It’s far away.”
The Beatles—Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison—broke up in 1970 and each pursued solo careers, but they never reunited.
Lennon was shot in New York in 1980 at the age of 40, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 58.
– ‘It was meant to be’ –
“Now And Then” was one of several songs on the tape that Lennon had recorded for McCartney a year before his death. It was given to him by Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono in 1994.
Two more songs, “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love”, were cleaned up by producer Jeff Lynne and released in 1995 and 1996.
An attempt was made to do the same with “Now And Then”, but the project was scrapped due to background noise in the demo.
AI has now made that possible, although its use in music is the subject of industry-wide debate, with some decrying copyright infringement and others praising its validity.
McCartney said earlier this year that using the technology was “kind of scary, but exciting because it’s the future.”
Sean Ono Lennon, Lennon and Ono’s son, said it was “incredibly touching” to hear the former Beatles working together again “after all the years Dad was gone.
“It’s the last song that my dad, Paul, George and Ringo got to do together. It’s like a time capsule and everything feels very purposeful,” he added.
“Now And Then” is released as a double A-side, with the band’s 1962 debut single “Love Me Do” and cover art by US artist Ed Ruscha.
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