A composition believed to be from John Lennon is set to be released as the Beatles’ “last song” this year, with the help of artificial intelligence. Paul McCartney has clarified that the song was not created artificially or synthetically, and that the band played on it themselves. Existing recordings have been cleaned up for the release.
Earlier this month, McCartney announced on BBC Radio 4 that the Beatles would be releasing a song later this year. While he did not reveal the name of the piece, it is suspected to be a composition from 1978 titled “Now And Then” by Lennon. Lennon’s voice from the demo of the song has been removed using AI, allowing McCartney to mix and complete it.
There has been some confusion and speculation surrounding the project, according to McCartney. He mentioned on Twitter that he cannot reveal much more at this time, but more news will follow. The release date of the new song has not been specified, except that it will be later in the year.
McCartney has been working on this plan for some time, although fellow Beatle George Harrison initially declined to participate, citing Lennon’s singing as being useless. The project gained momentum during the filming of the documentary “The Beatles: Get Back” by New Zealand director Peter Jackson in 2021. Computers were trained to recognize the voices of the Beatles and isolate them from other sounds. This technique also allowed McCartney to perform a virtual duet with Lennon during his recent tour.
More information will be revealed in due course.
