The Beatles have released what is being called the band's final new song together, and fans have been left 'speechless.'
The track — which is called 'Now and Then' — is the only original Beatles recording of the 21st century.
The song reunites the Fab Four, with performances by the late John Lennon and George Harrison being pieced together with new recordings by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
It features a countdown, followed by acoustic guitar strumming and a piano, which bleed into Lennon's unmistakable voice.
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'Now and Then' is the final Lennon-penned demo handed to McCartney in 1994 by Yoko Ono on a cassette reading 'For Paul.'
From the demo tracks - which were recorded in the 1970s - the remaining Beatles created two new songs 'Free As a Bird' and 'Real Love,' both of which reached the top five in the UK in the 90s.
But, when the trio tried to complete a song using the 'Now and Then' demo, they struggled greatly and ended up abandoning the project.
That is, until recently, when advanced technology enabled McCartney and Starr to better isolate Lennon's original vocal performance.
The surviving members recorded new parts for the song. Meanwhile, a number of George Harrison's guitar parts from a shelved recording session feature throughout.
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A behind-the-scenes film of the making of the track was released on Wednesday (1 November), and the music video is due to be released tomorrow (3 November) at 2.00pm GMT.
In the film, Starr says: “It was the closest we’ll ever come to having [Lennon] back in the room.”
McCartney went on to explain how the band struggled to complete the song back in 1995.
“On John’s demo tape, the piano was a little hard to hear. And in those days, of course, we didn’t have the technology to do the separation," he said. "We kind of ran out of steam a bit, and time. 'Now and Then' just languished in a cupboard.”
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Fans have reacted to the new song following the release of its audio on YouTube earlier today.
One comment reads: "A pure gem, a special gift for all the Beatles fans, thank you so much! I really like it!"
Another fan wrote: "Beautiful song. Crying here. Thank you to Yoko Ono for giving Paul the tape. Thank you to George, Paul and Ringo who did everything they could to bring this project to fruition," with another adding the track had left them 'speechless'.
Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher wrote on X: “Absolutely incredible biblical celestial heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time.”
When a fan asked the musician if he'd been worried he wouldn't like the new release, Gallagher replied: “The Beatles could s*** in my handbag and I’d still hide my polo mints in there.”
Topics: Music
Bec Oakes