Legendary band The Beatles scored the award for best rock performance at the 2025 Grammys, despite breaking up more than 50 years ago.
The Liverpool band won the prize for their ballad ‘Now and Then’, during a star-studded ceremony that saw Beyoncé and Kendrick winning the biggest awards of the night.
The track was released in November 2023. It was originally recorded as a home demo by the late John Lennon in 1977, and it was completed in early 2023 by bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
The award was accepted by Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon, who remembered the band as the “greatest of all time”.
“I just want to say, play The Beatles music to your kids. I feel like the world can’t afford to forget about people like the Beatles,” he continued.
A work in progress
The nostalgic ballad had been previously considered as a possible single for the monumental ‘Anthology’ project that The Beatles released in 1995, along with two other unfinished Lennon songs – ‘Free As a Bird’ (also a Grammy-winning song) and ‘Real Love’.
However, due to the poor quality of the original audio, its release was postponed for almost 30 years.
These technical difficulties were considered insurmountable until recently when new audio restoration technology helped ‘Now and Then’ to finally see the light.
Lennon’s voice was extracted and isolated from the piano, while McCartney later recorded guitar and bass guitar solos.
Acoustic tracks included
Acoustic guitar tracks previously recorded by George Harrison, who died in 2001, were also included.
The song was completed by Starr’s drum track and previously recorded backing vocals from all four band members.
The restoration approach has been cited in regards to the use of AI technology in music production.
However, McCartney denied that artificial intelligence was used to work on ‘Now and Then’.
“Nothing has been artificially or synthetically created. It’s real and we all play on it,” he confirmed to Deadline Hollywood in 2023. And now it won them a Grammy.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Liverpool announced as Radio 1 Big Weekend host
Ren Azrack Escosio 
Jheruleene Anne Ramos