“Now and Then”: The Beatles’ Groundbreaking AI-Produced Hit Tops UK Charts After 54 Years

2023-11-10 23:02:40

The song, released last Thursday, topped the British charts, a first in 54 years for the legendary English group.

The Beatles’ latest song “Now and Then”, produced using artificial intelligence, topped the British charts, a first in 54 years for the legendary English group, the organization which establishes the ranking said on Friday sales reference.

Released last Thursday, this title, recorded by John Lennon in 1978, then completed following his death by the other members of the group – Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – was made possible thanks to the latest digital technologies.

A first since 1969

The last time a Beatles hit reached the top of the British weekly chart was in 1969 with “The Ballad of John and Yoko”, The Official Charts Company said in a press release, proclaiming “the return of “Beatlemania.”

In total, the Liverpool group, which broke up in April 1970, has taken 18 of its songs to the top of the charts, since “From me to You” in 1963.

“It’s astonishing. I’m blown away. It’s also a very emotional moment for me,” reacted Paul McCartney, 81, to Official Charts.

“Now and Then” was born from a demo recorded in the late 1970s by John Lennon in his New York apartment. After his assassination in 1980, his widow Yoko Ono handed over the band, voice and piano, to the other members of the group in 1994.

Artificial intelligence technologies have recently made it possible to isolate Lennon’s voice and mix it with recordings of other singers, including George Harrison before his death in 2001. The song was completed and released by both members once more alive, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, 83 years old.

Despite the technical feat, the song received a mixed reception, with the Washington Post deeming the title “banal”, while the Times considered that it “is far from being a lost masterpiece”.

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