The Beatles have landed a record-breaking No. 1 with their “final” single, Now And Then.
The Fab Four leapt 41 places from their No. 42 debut – based on just 10 hours of sales following its release on November 2 – to this week’s top spot on the UK Singles Chart.
In doing so, the song – which uses WingNut Films’ groundbreaking MAL audio technology to ‘reunite’ the inimitable group one last time – marks 60 years since their first No. 1 single, From Me To You, marking the longest-ever gap between an act’s first and last chart-topping hit.
It’s also the band’s 18th UK No. 1 hit, extending The Beatles’ record as the British act with the most chart-topping hits. Only Elvis Presley, with 21 No. 1s, has more to his name.
Upon hearing the news, Paul McCartney told OfficialCharts: “It’s mind boggling. It’s blown my socks off. It’s also a very emotional moment for me. I love it!”
John Lennon first wrote and recorded a demo of Now And Then with piano and vocals in the late 1970s at his home in New York’s Dakota building, with his wife Yoko Ono passing the track to McCartney, Starr and George Harrison in 1994, along with the demos for Free As A Bird and Real Love.
Both of those songs were completed and released in the mid-’90s as part of the band’s ‘Anthology’ project and they’re doing the same with the new song, using WingNut Films’ MAL audio technology – which was also used in Peter Jackson’s acclaimed ‘Get Back’ and for a 2022 remix of their seminal album ‘Revolver‘ – to isolate elements of the track and add clarity to the stem of Lennon’s vocals and piano.
Alongside the song, a music video directed by Jackson has also been released.
