The Beatles to release 'final song' Now and Then

Music group The Beatles have confirmed they will release one final song "Now and Then" next week.

The new track was created with the help of Artificial Intelligence and will feature all four original band members.

More than fifty years after they split up the band is still considered one of the most successful and important in the history of music.

But who were the Beatles and what was so special about them?

Keep reading to find out.

What's been announced?

The Beatles performing in 1964

Called Now And Then, the new song it is based on a 1970s demo recording by John Lennon, and was completed last year by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr - the two remaining members of the band.

However the sound quality of the original demo wasn't very good, so the new song was developed using artificial intelligence which identified each separate sound from the recording and made a clean copy of Lennon's voice from the demo.

In a statement, the surviving Beatles said completing the song had been a surreal experience.

Sir Paul McCartney said: "It's quite emotional. And we all play on it, it's a genuine Beatles recording.

"In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven't heard, I think it's an exciting thing."

Ringo Starr added that it had been "very emotional" for everyone.

The new track will premiere on Thursday 2 November.

Who were the Beatles?

In 1957, a sixteen-year old boy named John Lennon created a group called the Quarrymen, and later his friend, Paul McCartney joined.

Over the next five years, John and Paul's band totally transformed into a new group called The Beatles. They were joined by Paul's friend, George Harrison, on guitar and session drummer Ringo Starr.

They released their first UK No. 1 single 'From Me To You' in 1963, and went on to have 16 more UK No. 1's.

In total, they spent 65 weeks at the top of the UK charts!

And for one week in April 1964, the Beatles achieved something that had never been done before - they took the top five best-selling singles in the United States Billboard chart!

What was so special about the Beatles?

Many people feel that The Beatles were a ground-breaking band.

At first they were mainly influenced by the rock and roll genre of the '50s, but over time they came up with new ways of making music.

Their original ideas went on to influence hundreds of bands that followed them.

And even 60 years on from their creation, they remain one of the world's most popular music groups of all time.

What was 'Beatlemania'?

Police hold fans back from entering The Beatles' hotel in New York.

In the 1963, the British public had not seen anything quite like the crowds that The Beatles attracted.

The band's popularity with younger audiences, particularly women, became a big talking point in the UK.

Many older people were horrified at how Beatles' fans behaved - many of them screaming, cheering, dancing and at times they tried to storm onto stage!

Fans were held back from climbing over the gates of Buckingham Palace when The Beatles received their MBEs in 1965.

This fan mania became known as 'Beatlemania', and it followed the group from the UK to the United States.

There performance on the famous Ed Sullivan show was viewed by 73 million people in 1964.

If you can imagine, that's the same as every person in the UK today tuning in to watch one television programme!

Even though the band split up nearly 50 years ago, there are still millions of Beatles fans around the world today.