When The Beatles’ Anthology albums were released in the mid-1990s, there was a palpable sense of surprise and excitement that two songs featuring the entire group had been completed for inclusion. Twenty-eight years on, “Now And Then,” the other track they worked on but abandoned, has come to life as the final Beatles single, summoning the best elements of modern technology to create an even more momentous closing chapter in pop’s greatest story.
The song is accompanied by a documentary film written and directed by Oliver Murray, and a music video overseen by Get Back docuseries director Peter Jackson. It will also take its place on the newly-expanded editions of The Beatles’ famous “Red” (1962-1966) and “Blue” (1967-1970) compilations.
Giles Martin, who co-produced “Now And Then” with Paul McCartney, is fully aware of the emotional and cultural significance surrounding the release. As Beatles aficionados have long known, John Lennon made a piano-and-vocal demo recording of the song in the mid-to-late 1970s on cassette, labeled “For Paul.”
Yoko Ono found the tape and gave it to McCartney before the Anthology project, but much as Paul, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and producer Jeff Lynne…
