AI joins The Beatles? Paul McCartney to create one last Beatles song using John Lennon's demo

Sir Paul McCartney has revealed that a new and long-awaited Beatles recording, made possible through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), will be released later this year. The legendary musician shared that he employed innovative technology to "extract" the voice of the late John Lennon from an old demo and finalise a song that remained unfinished for decades.

During an interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, McCartney expressed his excitement about the completion of the track and confirmed its forthcoming release. While he didn't disclose the title of the song, speculation suggests it might be "Now and Then," a composition by Lennon dating back to 1978. The demo of the song was part of a collection of cassettes labelled "For Paul," which Lennon had created shortly before his untimely death in 1980. These tapes were subsequently given to McCartney by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.

“We just finished it up and it’ll be released this year,” he told BBC Radio 4.

The original recording of "Now and Then" was predominantly captured on a boombox as Lennon sat at a piano in his New York apartment. The lyrics, beginning with "I know it's true, it's all because of you / And if I make it through, it's all because of you," are characteristic of the heartfelt and introspective love songs Lennon wrote in the latter stages of his career.

The idea to utilise AI for the reconstruction of the demo stemmed from Peter Jackson's extensive documentary, "Get Back." Emile de la Rey, the dialogue editor, employed custom-made AI to identify the voices of the Beatles and separate them from the background noise. This breakthrough process allowed McCartney to "duet" with Lennon during his recent tour, including a memorable performance at last year's Glastonbury festival. Moreover, it facilitated the creation of new surround-sound mixes for the Beatles' iconic "Revolver" album.

Jackson's team managed to extract Lennon's voice from the original low-quality cassette recording, effectively isolating it from other elements. McCartney explained that the AI technology was given instructions to recognise Lennon's voice and differentiate it from other sounds, such as guitars. This enabled them to obtain a clear and pure rendition of Lennon's vocals, which could then be mixed into the final version of the song. The result is a remarkable collaboration between McCartney and Lennon, made possible by modern AI techniques.

“So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had and we were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI. Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do. So it gives you some sort of leeway,” McCartney added.

"Now and Then" had previously been considered a potential reunion song for the Beatles during the production of their career-spanning Anthology series in 1995. Two songs from Lennon's cassette collection, namely "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love," were released by the surviving members of the band, marking the Beatles' first "new" material in 25 years.

Although the band had attempted to record "Now and Then" at that time, the session was ultimately abandoned. Producer Jeff Lynne, who was responsible for refining the reunion songs, recalled that the band worked on it for just one afternoon before deciding to move on. Lynne cited George Harrison's dismissal of the song as a major factor in its shelving, with Harrison reportedly calling it "fucking rubbish" and refusing to continue working on it.

Furthermore, technical issues plagued the original recording, as a persistent buzz from the electrical circuits in Lennon's apartment tainted the quality of the demo. In 2009, an alternate version of the demo, devoid of background noise, surfaced on a bootleg CD. This release sparked fan speculation that it might be a different recording altogether, possibly stolen from Lennon's apartment after his passing.

Over the years, McCartney has frequently expressed his desire to release a completed version of "Now and Then." He discussed the unfinished track during a BBC Four documentary on Jeff Lynne in 2012, stating his intention to collaborate with Lynne in the future to finalise it.

The announcement of the upcoming Beatles recording arrives amid growing controversies surrounding AI-generated music. Notably, fake tracks imitating the styles of popular artists like Drake, The Weeknd, and Kanye West have garnered significant streams before being removed from streaming platforms. Furthermore, a UK band employed AI to imagine how Oasis might sound if they were to reunite and release a new album in 2023.

McCartney, speaking ahead of the launch of his new book and accompanying photography exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, acknowledged that certain applications of AI raise concerns for him. He mentioned instances where people have claimed to hear Lennon singing one of his songs, only to discover that it was an AI-generated track. While he finds this both scary and exciting, McCartney recognises that it represents the future of music and is eager to see where it leads.

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