The Beatles Now And Then 12 Inch Vinyl Single Revealed! 

The new single and video that just premiered brought a tear to my eye as well as listening to the new single yesterday. It was like having John and George back with Paul and Ringo and they recorded a song in 1973!

I love the new song and think it’s been put together beautifully. I bought the black 7” single and I’m really pleased with it. The video however hit me the hardest. Seeing them all together again was incredible and the technology to do that was used so tastefully. I have to say, it brought a tear. Thank you for the contributions you make Andrew, I think your videos really help to bring fans together - long may it continue.

For all those fans (and there are many) who were disappointed by the front cover of the sleeve for the “Now and Then” single, created by acclaimed American graphic artist Ed Ruscha, perhaps you’ll find the back side of the cover more satisfying. It’s a clock featuring the words “Now and Then.” According to a post on Twitter that appears to show a portion of the sleeve notes, the piece of art was created by another American artist, Chris Griffin, which was bought by George Harrison in 1997 from a shop in Providence, RI and kept for years in the home he shared with his wife Olivia. Last year, apparently, Olivia decided to have a closer look at the clock. “I put it on the mantelpiece,” she recalled. “Then the phone rang. It’s Paul, and he begins to remind me of this third song with ‘Real Love’ and ‘Free As a Bird.’ I said, ‘I remember it.’ He said, ‘It’s called “Now and Then.”’ I’m standing there with the phone in one hand, looking at the clock that said Now and Then. I was sort of dumbfounded. I said, ‘I think this is George saying it’s OK.’

In the beginning I expected the background vocals to be greater and the guitar to be louder. However, after several listens it really is an excellent song. It’s also mind boggling this was taken from John Lennon’s demo and transformed into this beautiful song.

Great time to be alive Andrew - keep up the good work!! The music video is amazing too!

Thanks as ever Andrew. An exciting day for all of us Beatles fans!

Great video Andrew, loving both the new song and the video and great to hear it after all this time and a fitting coda. My 20th anniversary 12 inch reissue of Love Me Do from 1982 also had MPL in the middle of the left hand side of the label above the words ‘A Side’.

Hello Andrew!!!!!! Loving your channel!!!!! Like a few others on here have mentioned about the MPL connection, Paul has owned "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" for some time now. And more recently Paul scored a victory back in 2017!!!! In 2017, Paul McCartney filed a federal lawsuit in New York seeking a declaratory judgment to begin reclaiming his copyright interests in his Beatles’ songs, which stem from Love Me Do (1962) to The Long and Winding Road (1970). It was a clever move by McCartney and his legal team to use an obscure part of the Federal Copyright Act of 1976 to get back the rights to the music. Section 304(c) of the Act creates a non-waiveable claw-back right for authors to reclaim their ownership interests in any works assigned by them prior to January 1, 1978. An author may reclaim their copyright ownership interest by serving a termination notice on the rights-holder between 56 and 61 years after the copyright registered. That means for the songs that McCartney wrote with the Beatles in 1962, and which Sony currently owns, 2018 was the first year he began clawing-back his ownership interests. So he can do that each year now until 2026 when he can regain the copyrights to all of his Beatles’ songs. Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!👍✌🕉

THANK YOU MY FRIEND AND BY THE WAY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WITH 4 YEARS ON YOU TUBE! I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR THE RED AND BLUE 🍏

beautiful video as usual! i snagged the black 12 inch online as well as the clear 7 inch from hmv today to put in my singles box. i had the chance to get the 10'' and now i'm kicking myself I didn't but we sadly can't have it all. I'm hoping a handful of copies will go back on sale but it's not looking too likely ahaha!

Thankyou Andrew informative and entertaining as ever.

Enjoying your videos, glad I found this channel. Cheers Andrew!

I think the song, as well as the cover, are real growers. With the song, a lot of it is the significance of it to Paul and its somber feel. It’s quite melancholic but in places like Latin America they absolutely love that feel. People in western countries often don’t like it initially, or our immediate reaction is that it’s too depressing.

The thing I like about Now & Then, is it's understated production. Not as bombastic as the production of Free as a Bird or Real Love. But that was probably to hide the imperfections in John's demo tapes. Hopefully they give these 2 songs the demixing treatment soon (Anthology 1,2 & 3 remixed & expanded?). I bought the CD single of N&T from the British Beatles site. I'm from Australia.

Good for you Andrew. Totally agree. I love it too! Great hearing John's voice so crystal clear!

I’ve been enjoying your videos Andrew & just subscribed 👍 cheers from Houston TX USA 🇺🇸

'Love Me Do' and 'P.S. I Love You' were originally published in the UK by Ardmore & Beechwood Ltd, a subsidiary of EMI Records Ltd. Dick James never got hold of those two songs. Paul's company MPL acquired the publishing rights in 1982. The 20th anniversary 7" and 12" singles of 'Love Me Do' released in late 1982 listed MPL Communications as the publishers of both songs.

Hi Andrew. My 7inch blue vinyl came from HMV today (Friday). I also snagged a 12inch copy but the HMV Red exclusive, all of which have now sold out, I really like Now and Then, it grows on you more and more, the more you listen to it. The video is brilliantly done

It’s a nice song. It will never be the best Beatles song but it grows on you and is definitely worthy. I’ve just seen the official video and my Mum (who is an original fan and saw them in 1963) was very upset by it as it makes Paul look like the lead singer. She feels he nudged John aside in the video and it would have been better to not show them singing. I see her point, although there’s also a lot to love about the video.

Its just beautiful and amazing thank you so much

thank you this was really cool..

Thanks for the view of the 12" single. My 7" black vinyl arrived today. Also have the CD single and Red and Blue CD sets on order. The song itself was much better than I think we had any right to expect. I was not convinced it was strong enough but with the MAL extraction, new instrumentation, strings and subtle use of backing vocals I think that they have done an amazing job. Listening to it now was a very emotional moment, and you can see why Paul was so eager to complete it. The lyrics are so poignant and affecting in this new setting. Truly tear-jerking. I thought it would be a bit drab having been used to the demos that have circulated, but no, I think this is a worthy epitaph. I was not initially bowled over by the cover, but I think that it is OK. It sort of grows on you, and you do realize that it could have been quite difficult to find a representive band image to accompany this song. If the song itself brings a tear to the eye (and it really should do if you are a genuine fan) then the Peter Jackon video adds a range of emotions. Seeing the 1995 footage was very special, but so was the humorous juxtaposition of the band members, new and old in tbe central portion. John would have loved all of the mugging from Hello Goodbye. Typical John, deflating the moment with visual puns. The way the video moved through different phases I think was wonderful. It shows how much the band gave to the world right from the very beginning to, let's not say the end, but today. Now and Then. We do get it all and an appropriate bow at the end and the visual fade. There has been some negativity elsewhere but I think that they have done an amazing job of presenting what is being termed their final single.

Paul has owned the rights to Love Me Do and PS I love you since the 1980’s, as it was published through a different company. Once they were under his control, he recorded ‘’PS Love me do’ on the flowers in the dirt sessions

Hi Andrew Thanks for posting this. Did you see Mathew Streets presentation on how the clock featured on the back cover ? It’s very interesting

This is what I read about the image of the clock : It’s a clock featuring the words “Now and Then.” According to a post on Twitter that appears to show a portion of the sleeve notes, the piece of art was created by another American artist, Chris Griffin, which was bought by George Harrison in 1997 from a shop in Providence, RI and kept for years in the home he shared with his wife Olivia. Last year, apparently, Olivia decided to have a closer look at the clock. “I put it on the mantelpiece,” she recalled. “Then the phone rang. It’s Paul, and he begins to remind me of this third song with ‘Real Love’ and ‘Free As a Bird.’ I said, ‘I remember it.’ He said, ‘It’s called “Now and Then.”’ I’m standing there with the phone in one hand, looking at the clock that said Now and Then. I was sort of dumbfounded. I said, ‘I think this is George saying it’s OK.’”

When Free as a bird was announced and Real Love came out later, I was pretty pleased like any fan should be. They weren't the best songs, but I enjoyed them every bit as much as the Anthology stuff. As I went to uni to study audio engineering on the basis of learning the Beatles Compelte Reecording stuff, that should speak volumes. But now this song has come out, it hits REALLY hard for me and I truly don't know why. I initially thought it wasn't that great of a song, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about it, which I havenm't done for any song in many decades. I don't know why, if it's just nostalgia and me being sentimental as this is truly a swansong, or whether it's truly a magnificent piece of work that speaks to me.

Andrew, the relevance of the image on the back of the cover is revealed in the text included in the glossy insert of the 12 inch version that you showed on screen. (Loving your channel - you've got a great and natural way of sharing your enthusiasm for the subject matter)

Great video, love the song. Is it just the black 12” that’s hard to find or also the red?

Excellent video as always. I already cannot wait for the Rubber Soul, Help, Beatles For Sale, A Hard Day's Night, With The Beatles and Please, Please Me future Giles Martin remix releases. A Past Masters corrected and proper Stereo Remix. Even possibly a remixed Anthology for cleaner, crispier sound, instruments and vocals.

Look forward receiving the various configurations next week. Truly a very special song. It is a piece that elicits a variety of emotions. Unfortunately that doesn’t occur often for myself with many recordings over the last decade or so

Agree on the "Because" vocals - very tastefully done. Doesn't feel like a mash-up or anything like that.

Hello Andrew! Marcos, here, I'm living in Vancouver-BC, I'm brazilian, I would like to thank you for this short, but essential video. Thank you so much! I Love the Beatles, my son's name is Harrison.

I seem to remember that Dick James owned the publishing to the first two Beatles singles. Some time ago Paul bought Love Me Do / PS I Love You, leaving Please Please Me / Ask Me Why with James. Thanks for the review, I have ordered the 7" black vinyl, can't wait. Cheers.

The video is fantastic

The 1982 12'' of Love Me Do credits MPL. I think Paul acquired the publishing of that song long ago.

Amazon came through today. Well impressed with them.

I can't wait!

Andrew, you're really testing my resolve to not buy every variant of the Now and Then single, but now I'm thinking I need to pick up at least one version the 12-inch too.

Well done getting the rare 12 inch. If John had recorded Now and Then properly and put it on one of his solo albums, people would have listened to it and enjoyed it without all the fanfare. I like it but I'm not sure it's as strong as his songs on his first and second albums. Perhaps it will grow on me when my single arrives and is played on my system. It certainly didn't get to me on the first few hearings like Real Love did. Anyway, it's still exciting that we have a song from John after all these years, and the rest of the band are playing on it too which makes it so special. Do you feel a little bit melancholy as well, due to hearing John's voice on a fairly slow song that is probably going to be the very last "Beatles" track?

Hi mate, I went for the 7inch It sounds very good. A solid song to end The Beatles' voyage home. Take care.

"Love Me Do" has never been available in true stereo Andrew. The stereo master tape was wiped and reused in 1962, and the mono master tape was junked in 1963. This version derives from the best available vinyl single in the Abbey Road archives and then given the "MAL" treatment for a stereo mix. The same goes for She Love's You and both singles B Sides.

Great video! I preordered the 12 inch red vinyl copy which is a treat. I was just wondering lately: is there a difference in the wave form for the 7" and 12" single? The reason i'm wondering if there's a difference is that the total width of all grooves is a limiting factor in making mixes for vinyl loud and is the reason vinyl usually has greater dynamic range: you need the quieter parts, as they take up less space, to fit all the music to the disk. A 12" single would increase the space there is for loudness and facilitate a mix with lower dynamic range. It is therefore possible that the 12" in more brick-walled. Any thoughts?

I pre ordered the black 7inch on the 1st haha, cant wait to get it

The story of the "chimney clock" in the rear cover of the single is written in the little essay inside, and involves George

this song is giving me a reason to be happy

Love the single….its a real grower! The video is brilliant too….Peter Jackson needs to do more work with the Beatles!

Glad you got one .. gone to a good home .. me .. I snoozed and miss out .. been quit asleep on all this but have to say the single is terrific.. a couple of plays and it’s a grower …and yes Johns vocal really does get you… The black 12”and the black box set is definitely the way to go …good choice..

Hey Andrew, hope your well my friend, I just received my same 12inch black vinyl copy of this today, you enjoyed the sound of this version.? It’s a really nice pressing and variant of this.?

Hi Andrew. I'm still waiting for my copy of the CD single I ordered. It's sold out on Amazon and on the HMV website.

Great stuff Andrew 👍🏻 Is Now And Then credited to Lennon & McCartney on the label?

Really love the song. My only gripe is actually getting a physical copy. I’ve ordered a 7” blue vinyl and cd single but unable to get anything else. Back when ‘free as a bird’ and ‘real love’ were released… no problem getting vinyl,cd or cassette…

Does anyone knows to tell if the 12" pressing is same on both USA and UK Beatles online store? Or were they made under a different label and in a different country? Thanks!

I agree with your conclusion. I think it's the perfect ending. The oldest and the newest song on a single and the title is Now and Then. Couldn't be better

This must make No.1!!

Got a red vinyl 12” copy. Sounds superb. Do you know anything about the red edition?

So haunting, it captures the spirit of the demo whilst augmenting it with a beatley feel.

Just received my 10 inch Spotify vinyl and 7 inch clear. Couldn't resist I've ordered the black 7 inch today before they all sell out. Just waiting for cd now. The video is very moving. Hope they win a Grammy. Do you ever keep any vinyl sealed or don't you believe in that?.

I downloaded the single and ordered the cd single which should arrive tomorrow…..the track should be number 1 soon.

The slide and guitar parts from what I understand was all recorded and done by George Harrison back in the 90s when they first got a hold of the demo tape, and nothing was ever done with it until now when it was all compiled together.

I got my 7 inch marble vinyl today - strangely the Apple label is printed really dark compared to your 12 inch example - so much so you can hardly read the text on that side of the label. I noticed about the MPL on the Parlophone side. I like the hand written draft Now and Then lyrics they've added on the insert.

MPL Communications is on the label of my 12" single of Love Me Do that was issued to celebrate the songs 20th anniversary in Oct '82.

Love your work from Australia, great review, very emotional moment for many people around the world, you do it so well.

Decided to be greedy & bought a clear & blue single. Decided to frame the blue and play on the clear vinyl. Guys at my local HMV said they'd put a 12" Red Vinyl of Now & Then for next week! Beyond buzzing !!

I've just purchased this black 12 inch vinyl from Amazon. Seems to be from their US branch but free delivery. Would this be the same as yours? I can't find anything out about a separate US 12 inch version. Sold out in all UK shops so hope I got lucky.

A great new song

Hi Andrew, do you know that there is a 10inches version of this single ?

Is this version limited to 400 copies? Will there be more print runs? I can't find it for sale anywhere 😢.

I walked to st Johns wood and bought the single from the abbey road studios shop ♥️

Clock image is explained in the inner notes (right at the end) inside the record

Sorry I couldn't catch the stream yesterday. Anyway I have order the CASSETTE and CD versions. I know the songs on YT but I'm going to wait until I get the physical versions. ok thats the end of this comment.

When I saw your limited edition, I was now interested to obtain something. Was waiting for the Red and Blue to get the tunes but I ended up getting the Target store limited edition 12" also from Germany and in red vinyl a Target exclusive as it states. Not as limited as your 12" single but I like my purchase. (store had just l left so guess it was meant to be)

The notes on the credit sheet tell the story of the clock on the rear cover.

I just saw on Discogs that there is a 10" as well!

MPL has been on other "Love Me Do" credits before. Paul has owned the publishing of it for many years now.

Hello there Andrew Dixon, would you kindly be able to guide me, as to where I may possibly come to attain a 12'' Inch Vinyl Single Release of : { ' The Beatles - Now And Then ' } : ?...

MPL have owned the copyright for years on LMD nice looking record Andrew

Matthew Street on his channel explains the back cover image and it's a great story

My 12 arrived yesterday. The production is quite brilliant (wonderful what we can do nowadays). Wasn't aware it was ltd to 400. The prices on discogs already farcical (I intend to keep mine,that's why I bought it).

Thanks for the video, Andrew - engaging as always. I guess I’m more interested in song structures than product just at the moment and have done some comparisons between the demo and the 2023 version. I was sorry that 2023 missed out the ‘I don’t want to lose you’ bridge, which was my favourite bit of the demo. Anyway, 2023 has turned what I’d like to call verse version 2 into a chorus … going to G major rather than back to Em. I can see that the demo ‘I don’t …’ bridge drifts into an incoherent vocal, but they could still have used the first couple of lines of that bridge. Anyway, they chose not to. I can also see that they’ve done a good job in turning verse version 2 into a chorus. For what it’s worth, there’s what I think is a great audio / video version based on the demo at … ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d9kMgTf-jt8.html … from 2011! John, Leeds

I managed to buy the following today from my local store - black, blue and clear 7 inch interesting that I paid only 15.99 for the colour versions whereas these are 17.99 plus post on the Beatles official store...12 inch is on order so hopefully Monday and 10 inch also ordered but online.....

I didn't know that the 12 inch was limited. Quickly ordered from Universal...

Just been chatting to the chap in HMV. He said they may be getting more 12 inch singles (red and black versions) in stores to coincide with the Red and Blue release next Friday.

MPL has been attached to any release of Love Me Do since the 90's actually. It appears in the booklets of the cds ever since.

I don’t know about the label, but Paul did buy the publishing rights to Love Me Do, P.S. I Love You, Please Please Me, and Ask Me Why years ago. He had those rights before he recently inherited the rights to Northern Songs material.

Neat clip Andrew, I picked up the 45 in blue vinyl today in Denmark, cost 139.95 kroner which is equal to £16.32 in UK money. What is the price over there ?.

On the sheet of paper, there is also an explaination who and how he created this clock

That explains it…I went to three different record shops today and they had no copies of the single

I really wished they put much more into the artwork.... Looks very last minute and overlooked.

Paul owns the publishing for Love Me Do and PS I Love You because they were written before they started Northern Songs, which was sold to ATV and then Sony. I think he just always owned those two songs.

Love Me Do, and PS I Love You, were pre Northern Songs. They were published by Ardmore & Beechwood. Lennon/McCartney never lost ownership of those two.

Peter Jackson's video is amazing!

Dick James Music originally had the publishing rights to Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You, MPL Communications has owned the Publishing rights for over 30 years.

Looks good , i have the red vinyl version coming from HMV along with the new red and blue CD's which is out on the 10th. 👍

I want the backstory on the back cover too! I haven't heard if its Peter Blake's work, but that would make sense. Definitely inspired by him, if not.

Hey Andrew is it possible to send you an email regarding the 12” single?

You are lucky you managed to get it

You can read about the clock on the back of the cover in the text by John Harris printed on the inlay... it is George's clock

I wish they would've gone with Now and Then and the demo version on the A-side and Free as a Bird and Real Love on the B-side.

Why is it limited to only 400 ? That's crazy. ps, It says that it was produced by Paul McCartney and Giles Martin but fails to mention Jeff Lynne's name. He produced the 1995 recordings some of which were used in the recent release.

McCartney bought a catalogue a while back which included the rights to the first single love me do/ ps I love you. You may remember he redid the song during flowers in the dirt and was included in the Japanese 2cd set. So the 12 inch now and then black vinyl is limited ..... what about the other 12:" versions of now and then