It was a moment fans never expected: in late 2023, The Beatles released a final song — “Now And Then” — featuring all four members, decades after John Lennon’s death and long after the band’s last original recording.
Many called it a miracle. Others called it impossible.
Now, Giles Martin, son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin and producer of the track, has officially confirmed what many had suspected: AI technology was used to isolate and restore John Lennon’s voice — a revelation that has stirred deep emotion and awe across generations of fans.
“It’s still John,” Martin said in a recent interview. “What AI gave us was clarity, not imitation. We didn’t generate anything. We recovered what was already there.”
The Origin of the Track
The seed for “Now And Then” was planted in the late 1970s, when John recorded a rough demo of the song in his New York apartment. Years later, Yoko Ono gave that demo to Paul McCartney, along with others that would become “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love”.
While those tracks were completed in the 1990s, “Now And Then” was shelved — the audio quality was simply too poor. John’s voice was buried beneath noise, static, and the uneven quality of a home cassette tape.
But thanks to new technology developed during Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” documentary — an AI-based system that can separate voice from instrument, noise from clarity — Lennon’s original vocal was finally isolated and preserved.
“It was emotional,” McCartney said. “Hearing John sing that clearly, after all these years… it was like he was in the room with us.”
The Ethics and the Emotion
While the term “AI” often sparks debates about authenticity, the Beatles team has been clear: this was not a recreation or deepfake. It was a restoration. A respectful technological effort to let Lennon’s real voice be heard as he intended, without overwriting or replacing him.
“We didn’t change John,” Martin emphasized. “We just listened more closely than ever before.”
Why “Now And Then” Matters
For fans, “Now And Then” isn’t just a song. It’s a goodbye that never came, a final chapter written with love, technology, and time. The lyrics — tender and longing — now resonate more deeply, as Paul, Ringo, and the late George Harrison come together one last time with John’s voice shining through.
Conclusion – Yesterday Meets Tomorrow
In an age where machines can mimic anything, The Beatles used AI not to rewrite history, but to recover it. And in doing so, they reminded the world that the most advanced tools are still guided by the human heart.
“Now And Then” is more than a song — it’s a bridge between what was, what is, and what still lingers in the silence.
