Beatles fan Liam Gallagher shared his verdict on The Beatles’ ‘final’ song Now and Then on Thursday, right after its 2pm release.
The Oasis singer, 51, couldn’t contain his excitement as he took to X with his opinion on the hotly-anticipated single from the legendary rock band, branding it ‘biblical.’
He penned: ‘Now n Then absolutely incredible biblical celestial heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time long live The Beatles LG x,’ he penned. [sic]
On Tuesday’s afternoon the band’s ‘new’ song was released to millions of excited fans – thanks to the help of AI technology – which was able to use the late John Lennon’s singing voice from an old track.
Oasis star Liam was among many fans who quickly shared their delight over the release of the new track.
Something to say: Liam Gallagher, 51, shared his verdict on The Beatles’ ‘final’ song Now and Then on Thursday, right after its 2pm release
Final song: On Tuesday’s afternoon the band’s ‘new’ song was released to millions of excited fans – thanks to the help of AI technology
Broadcaster Lauren Laverne commented on the song: ‘I cried like a baby. And I never cry. It’s global treasure, isn’t it? I couldn’t get over the resonance of the title: to have this final track that’s arrived out of the mists of time, which takes us back to the beginning of this amazing story – this story that’s become part of our national character.’
BBC Radio 2 listeners, the first to hear it in the UK, said they were in tears hearing the Fab Four singing together again. One, Gemma from Nottingham, said: ‘Just wow. I got the shivers when I heard the one, two at the beginning of the track. That was amazing. I’m actually feeling a little bit emotional now’.
Another said: ‘I’m in tears listening to the new Beatles track. Let’s hope we have the Fab Four for Christmas number one’. A third fan said: ‘I’m only in my mid 30s but The Beatles were a massive part of my childhood with my parents listening to them, and now this new song. I’m in tears, it sounds so haunting yet so beautiful’.
The track is based on a 1970s demo record that Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr have been working on for the past four decades.
With the help of artificial intelligence they have managed to ‘extricate’ John Lennon’s vocals from an old demo to finish the song.
John Lennon – who died aged 43 – began recording the vocals in the late 1970s and 14 years after he was shot dead in 1980, his widow Yoko Ono gave the tapes to Paul.
It comes alongside a newly-mastered version of the band’s Red And Blue album, which is due for release on November 10.
Two of the other tracks – Free As A Bird and Real Love – were cleaned up by producer Jeff Lynne before being released in 1995 and 1996.
Collaboration: The track is based on a 1970s demo record that Sir Paul McCartney, 81, and Sir Ringo Starr, 83, have been working on for the past four decades
Incredible: With the help of artificial intelligence they have managed to ‘extricate’ the vocals of John Lennon (pictured in 1964) from an old demo to finish the song
Heartfelt: Sir Paul and Sir Ringo have spoken of their ’emotional’ response ahead of the release of what they are calling the last song by The Beatles (the band in 1967)
Back in the studio! The Beatles has also released a short film revealing how they made their last song together 43 years after John Lennon ‘s death (Paul McCartney pictured in the 1990s)
Finally made it! Now And Then was shelved, with a hope that one day it would be revisited
But Lynne struggled to clean up Now And Then, and his attempt was deemed ‘rubbish’ by George Harrison, who refused to work on it.
However, AI technology has given Sir Paul, 81, a new way to revive the song once more.
With the help of AI, director Peter Jackson cleared those problems up by ‘separating’ Lennon’s original vocals from a piano used in the late 1970s.
‘There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear,’ Paul said in the announcement. ‘It’s quite emotional. And we all play on it, it’s a genuine Beatles recording.
‘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 quite an exciting thing.’
Meanwhile, George’s widow, Olivia, said George felt in the 1990s that the technical problems made it impossible to release a song that met the band’s standards.
With the improvements, ‘he would have wholeheartedly’ joined Paul and Ringo in completing the song now if he were still alive, she said.
The much clearer vocals allowed Paul and Ringo, 83, to complete the track last year, much to the excitement of Beatles fans.
The survivors packed plenty into it. The new single contains guitar that Harrison had recorded nearly three decades ago, a new drum part by Starr, with McCartney’s bass, piano and a slide guitar solo he added as a tribute to Harrison, who died in 2001.
The two surviving band members also sing back-up on the track.
Paul also added a string arrangement written with the help of Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin.
As if that wasn’t enough, they weaved in backing vocals from the original Beatles recordings of Here, There And Everywhere, Eleanor Rigby and Because.
Talking on the short film which premiered on the One Show on Wednesday, Sir Paul said: ‘When we lost John we knew it was really over.’
He added: ‘In 2001 we lost George, which took the wind out of our sails, it took almost a quarter of a century before we tackled Now and Then again.’
Using new technology, which was used during the production of docu-series Get Back, the band were able to separate voices and instruments, giving them hope of working on the track again.
Speaking about hearing John’s voice again for the first time, Ringo said: ‘It was the closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room so it was very emotional for all of us. It was like John was there, you know. It’s far out.’
A video of John recording the demo at his home in New York’s Dakota Building was given to the rest of the the band in 1994.
It included demos for Free As A Bird and Real Love, which were both completed as new Beatles songs and respectively released as singles in 1995 and 1996, as part of The Beatles Anthology project.
In 2021, docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, directed by Peter Jackson, was released and viewers were stunned by its award-winning film and audio restoration.
During the short film, Paul explained that within minutes John’s voice was heard ringing around the room, crystal clear, as if he was there in person.
In 2022, Paul and Ringo set about completing it. Besides John’s vocal, ‘Now and Then’ includes electric and acoustic guitar recorded in 1995 by George, Ringo’s new drum part, and bass, guitar and piano from Paul, which matches John’s original playing.
Paul added a slide guitar solo inspired by George and he and Ringo also contributed backing vocals to the chorus.
In Los Angeles, Paul oversaw a Capitol Studios recording session for the song’s wistful, quintessentially Beatles string arrangement, written by Giles Martin, Sir Paul and Ben Foster.
Sir Paul and Giles also added one last, wonderfully subtle touch: backing vocals from the original recordings of ‘Here, There And Everywhere’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Because’.
They were woven into the new song using the techniques perfected during the making of the LOVE show and album. The finished track was produced by Paul and Giles, and mixed by Spike Stent.
Heartfelt: During the short film, Paul explained that within minutes, John’s voice was heard ringing around the room, crystal clear, as if he was there in person
It’s not over yet! Talking on the short film which premiered on the One Show on Wednesday, Sir Paul said: ‘When we lost John we knew it was really over’
Questions: This achievement opened the way to 2022’s new mix of Revolver, sourced directly from the four-track master tapes. This led on to a question, what could now be done with the Now and Then demo? (John pictured with Yoko)
The surviving Beatles have skillfully released new projects, such as remixes of their old albums that include studio outtakes and Jackson’s Get Back film, timed to appeal to nostalgic fans around the holiday season.
But this will mark the last one.
‘This is the last track, ever, that you’ll get the four Beatles on the track. John, Paul, George, and Ringo,’ the latter said in a recent interview with Associated Press.