Peter Jackson says more music by The Beatles is “certainly conceivable”
Get Back director Peter Jackson has claimed more new music by The Beatles is “certainly conceivable” following their recent single ‘Now and Then.’
On November 2nd, The Beatles shared their first new track in decades, which was billed as their last-ever song. During the making of his documentary, Jackson invented the MAL software, which the band used to separate and clean John Lennon’s vocals on ‘Now and Then.’
They had previously attempted to record the track in 1995 but aborted their plans due to technological issues. However, thanks to Jackson’s breakthrough, they were able to get ‘Now and Then’ up to an acceptable standard. Lennon recorded a demo for the track in 1977, and it was later discovered by his widow, Yoko Ono, who passed it on to Paul McCartney as her husband had intended.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times, Jackson revealed he was contacted by McCartney in July 2022, who asked for help with producing the track. Explaining how his software works, the New Zealander said: “We can take a performance from Get Back, separate John and George, and then have Paul and Ringo add a chorus or harmonies.”
On the possibility of more new music, Jackson continued: “You might end up with a decent song, but I haven’t had conversations with Paul about that. It’s fanboy stuff but certainly conceivable.”
He also said in the interview: “It felt so wrong to have a Beatles song all to myself. With the world in the state it is, we need the Beatles to appear again, as if a flying saucer has touched down, and they’ve got off and are providing us with their one last song to cheer us up.”
‘Now and Then’ is on course to reach number one in the United Kingdom. According to the Official Chart Company, the new release is currently outselling the rest of the top five combined. If the song does finish the week at the top of the chart, it will mark The Beatles’ first number one song in 54 years.
Meanwhile, Giles Martin, who co-produced ‘Now and Then’, recently denied using artificial intelligence on the new track.
Martin said: “No, it’s not artificial or intelligent. No, it’s the same process that I used, as you say so rightly, in Love. And Paul was nervous about this, actually… My thought was this: that I really thought this needs to sound like the Beatles. And I have Paul, and he’s definitely the producer of this track, and I’m producing it with him.”
Watch Jackson’s official video for ‘Now and Then’ below.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.