Since Sir Ringo Starr didn’t think The Beatles would “last a week,” he was prepared to operate a hair salon. About 63 years after the renowned Liverpool group’s founding in 1960, their farewell song, “Now and Then,” was made available to the public last week. The “Eleanor Rigby” hitmakers, who also included guitarist George Harrison and late vocalist John Lennon, broke up in 1970. Starr, 83, and Sir Paul McCartney, 81, who are still alive, have stated that they never expected to stay together as long as they did. “When we started, we thought that, maybe, we’d have ten years,” McCartney stated in a Sunday Times interview. “None of us thought it would last a week,” Starr added. “George would get a garage, Paul would write, and I would open a hair salon.” But it continued till the end. And, I believe, just in time. However, that didn’t stop us from having fun with one another. They had no idea that their music would still have resonance decades later and that they would go on to become one of the greatest bands of all time. “How many streams did we do last year?” Starr continued. A billion? Three bil? It amazes me much. You know the beat is still running strong? With “Now And Then,” the “Let it Be” hitmakers are poised to achieve their 18th No. 1 single.
It was recently said by McCartney that he believes John “would have loved” the new Beatles song. The AI-assisted song is a demo that John Lennon made prior to his death in December 1980 at the young age of forty. AI technology was used to isolate and enhance his voice on this recording, which was made at his New York residence following The Beatles’ breakup. It features his voice and him playing the piano. McCartney stated, “We listened to the track,” in the recently released documentary Now and Then: The Last Beatles Song. John is shown playing a short demo on his piano in his New York City residence.” Is this something we ought not to do? Whenever I had a thought like that, I would say, “Wait a minute.” Assume for the moment that I got to ask John. “Hey John, do you want us to wrap up your last song?” You know the response would have been “yes,” I’m telling you.
That would have delighted him. Sean Lennon, John’s son, concurs that his father would have given the project his blessing. “My Dad would’ve loved it,” he continued, “since he was never afraid to try out new recording technologies. It truly is lovely.” After Lennon’s original demo, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison worked on the song in 1994 after completing “Real Love” and “Free as a Bird.” Though Lennon’s recordings rendered it impossible to finish “Now and Then” at the time, the two remaining members have now completed the song thanks to modern technology, which was also utilized to improve the audio in Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back. “They said this is the sound of John’s voice,” McCartney recalled, mimicking computer sounds. After a few seconds, John’s voice could be clearly heard. It was quite sentimental.”
