But the "final" song by the Beatles, Now and Then, is being released today in an unexpected last flourish for arguably the UK's greatest band.
"It's a big moment," said Dr Holly Tessler of the University of Liverpool, who specialises in the Beatles' history and legacy.
"It's strange to think that a band that broke up more than 50 years ago is telling you that this is our last song ... in a way, Paul and Ringo, who are both in their 80s, are drawing a line.
"It's a very sweet moment, I suspect, for almost all Beatles fans; it feels like an ending. So I do think it's significant." The song features musical contributions from all four members of the group including guitar recorded by the Harrison in 1995, and vocals by John Lennon drawn from the song's original late-70s demo. It was written and sung by Lennon at his home in New York City's Dakota building, where he was murdered in 1980.
In 1994 Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, handed the demo to Paul McCartney, in a cassette labelled "For Paul". It also contained vocals from Lennon for the tracks Free As a Bird and Real Love, which were worked into completed songs by McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr, and released in 1995 as part of the Beatles' multimedia archive project Anthology.
Denne historien er fra November 02, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra November 02, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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