“When we played it to people, some cried, some said, ‘Jesus Christ, it’s a Beatles record!”: Paul McCartney describes reactions to the band’s final song, Now And Then

Paul McCartney has reflected on the Beatles’ final song, Now And Then, and the reactions of those who heard it.

• READ MORE: Paul Gilbert: “All the David Lee Roth-era Van Halen records were monuments of excellence to me”

Speaking to The Times in a recent interview, McCartney talks about the band’s enduring legacy and how looking at photographs of his late bandmates still brings forth “bittersweet” feelings.

“The sweet is ‘How lucky was I to have those men in my life’. But the fact that they’re not here is bitter,” the bassist says.

Of the new song – which features sonic contributions from all four Beatles – McCartney admits that he had some initial reservations about working on the track as it was originally written and recorded by John Lennon circa 1977 as a solo piano home demo.

“It’s strange when you think about it,” Macca says. “There’s John, in his apartment, banging away at a piano doing a demo. And now we’ve restored it and it’s a crystal-clear, beautiful vocal. You still wonder, is it inferior, something we shouldn’t do?”

“But every time I thought that, I thought, Let’s say I had a chance to ask John. And John would have loved it. Of course, I’m never going to know, but I think mine’s the best guess we can have. And now it is a Beatles record. When we played it to people, some cried, some said, ‘Jesus Christ, it’s a Beatles record!’”

“A lot of people were touched by the Beatles – and that feeling still exists,” he continues. “When I remember the Beatles, I remember joy, talent, humour and love. And if people remember us for those things I’d be very happy.”

Now and Then is now out, accompanied by a music video directed by Peter Jackson, the mastermind behind 2021’s The Beatles: Get Back documentary series.

Listen to the song below.