Paul McCartney Debuts ‘Last’ Beatles Song ‘Now and Then’ During Uruguay Show
The song pieced together from a home demo made by John Lennon using AI premiered in 2023.
Sir Paul McCartney performs as part of his 'Got Back' tour, at the Centenario stadiium in Montevideo on Oct. 1, 2024.
Paul McCartney uncorked the live debut of what has been billed as the “final” Beatles song, 2023’s “Now and Then,” during the marathon kick-off of the South American leg of his Got Back tour in Montevideo, Uruguay on Tuesday (Oct. 1). Sitting at a piano as the AI-assisted Peter Jackson-directed video for the song unspooled behind him, McCartney, 82, crooned the melancholy ballad whose wistful chorus found him singing, “Now and then/ I miss you/ Oh, now and then/ I want you to be there for me/ Always to return to me.”
“Now and Then” debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in Nov. 2023, marking the group’s historic 35th top 10 entry. The song was billed as the last-ever song by the group that split in 1970. It was first recorded as a demo in 1977 by late singer/guitarist John Lennon and was originally slated to appear on one of the editions of the band’s Anthology series before being shelved due to the poor quality of the original recording.
It was revived by surviving members McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr after new technology allowed them to extract Lennon’s original vocals, which were paired with late guitarist/singer George Harrison’s guitar parts from the first pass at finishing the track in 1995. Producers cleaned up Lennon’s vocals using AI technology employed by Jackson for the 2021 The Beatles: Get Back documentary.
Jackson’s accompanying video also used technology to virtually “reunite” the band and depict a current-day McCartney laying down his vocals and appearing to stare at a ghostly Lennon image, as well as images of all four band members performing the song together.
According to Setlist.fm, McCartney’s sprawling 37-song, nearly three-hour setlist at Estadio Centenario on Tuesday including a mix of Beatles classics (“A Hard Day’s Night,” “Getting Better,” “Blackbird,” “Something,” “Helter Skelter”) and Wings songs (“Junior’s Farm,” “Let Me Roll It,” “Let ‘Em In,” “Jet”).
Watch a fan video of the “Now and Then” performance below.
Stephen Macklam (left) and Sam Feldman.Courtesy Photos