For the first time in 54 years, The Beatles have scored a number one single in the United Kingdom thanks to ‘Now and Then’.
The new single, released on November 2nd, has become the first track by The Fab Four to top the chart since ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’ in 1969. The gap between number one singles marks another landmark achievement for The Beatles, who have eclipsed a record set by Kate Bush in 2022 when ‘Running Up That Hill’ landed at the top spot. Bush’s last song to reach number one came 44 years prior.
‘Now and Then’ was initially a demo which John Lennon had made shortly in his New York apartment in 1994. His widow, Yoko Ono, later gave the recording to the surviving members of The Beatles, as Lennon had intended. They first attempted to record the track in 1995 as a trio when they made ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’ for the Anthology project.
Due to technology issues, the surviving Beatles were unable to get ‘Now and Then’ up to an acceptable standard. However, thanks to advancements, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have now been able to bring all four members back together for one final effort.
During an interview with Clara Amfo on BBC Radio 1, McCartney explained: “Before John died, he was working on some songs, and Yoko spoke to George Harrison and said ‘I’ve got a cassette with some John songs on that he never got to finish would you be interested in finishing them off?’ So we thought about it, and we thought, ‘Yeah, it would be great’, cause in a way we would be working with John again, which we thought we would never be able to do.”
McCartney added: “I ended up talking to Ringo, and we asked him if he fancied putting the drums on again, and then I thought, ‘Well, I could up the bass a bit’, so I put the bass on again, we already had George playing guitar, and we had John on vocal, it was kind of magical doing it. So we ended up making it into a real record, and that’s what’s being released.”
The official video for ‘Now and Then’, directed by Peter Jackson, arrived on November 3rd. It comprised of archival footage which brought the four members of the band together for one final time.
Meanwhile, Jackson recently claimed it’s “certainly conceivable” for The Beatles to release more music following the success of ‘Now and Then’. However, at this stage, the surviving members of the band have ruled out the prospect of making another recording.
In a five-star review of the track, Far Out wrote: “As ever with The Beatles, it is a piece of art created with unrivalled chemistry even via the conduit of AI. This is evidenced by the wondrous syncopation of McCartney’s bass that rumbles perfectly beneath his old pals stabbing piano jabs. And the extra lashings of care that have gone into crafting a perfectly pitched score rather than wheeling out something half-cooked for the cash-in.”
