It looks like Paul McCartney is set to play The Beatles’ ‘Now And Then’ live for the first time
The Beatles legend is resuming his ‘Got Back’ tour in South America this week
by Hollie Geraghty · NMEPaul McCartney looks set to perform The Beatles’ ‘Now And Then’ live for the first time on his upcoming tour.
The music legend is bringing his ‘Got Back’ tour to South America, the UK and Europe over the coming weeks and has been sharing snippets of his preparations in the run up to the live stint.
As fans wait patiently for the tour to resume, some have noticed that Macca may well be playing The Beatles’ “final” song – released last year with the help of AI technology – live in concert for the first time.
‘Now And Then’ was released in November 2023 and is the last Beatles song to feature all members of the Fab Four, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison and John Lennon.
Fan-shared footage seemingly reveals that McCartney performed ‘Now And Then’ during soundcheck at the Centenario Stadium, Montevideo in Uruguay on September 30, ahead of his performance there tonight (October 1).
Suspicions that it will feature on the official setlist also appeared to be confirmed in the behind-the-scenes footage of ‘Got Back’ tour rehearsals shared to the musician’s YouTube channel. Eagle-eyed fans spotted what appeared to be stills from the music video projected on the screens.
Recommended
Around the time of the song’s release, NME headed down to the Apple Corps London HQ to find out more about the making of the new single.
“When we lost John, we knew it was really over,” McCartney shared in a mini documentary that was screened, before remembering how “an interesting opportunity arose”.
It was then that Yoko Ono handed over a cassette of Lennon’s demos, before the trio hit the studio to rescue what they could and finish them off.
Two of tracks – ‘Real Love’ and ‘Free As A Bird’ – would be released as part of The Beatles Anthology series. On the third, however, the recording of Lennon’s voice and piano was not good enough to be salvaged. “John was hidden,” Starr said, which only “brought to the fore to the three of us that he was gone”.
They were then able to use artificial intelligence technology – the same used by Lord Of Rings director Peter Jackson – to isolate conversations by the band in his Get Back docu-series about the making of ‘Let It Be’.
McCartney is due to arrive home on UK shores this December, which will include two shows in Manchester and two in London. You can purchase any remaining tickets here.
In other Beatles news, a new documentary titled 1964 is coming to Apple TV+ this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the group conquering the United States.