Baden-Baden/London. Number one today, just like back then: after 54 years, the Beatles have stormed the single charts again in Germany and Great Britain. The song “Now And Then” shot to the top within days of its release, Germany’s GfK Entertainment and Britain’s The Official Charts Company announced on Friday.
This is the legendary band’s 12th number one hit in Germany and their 18th number one in their home country. Former Beatle Paul McCartney spoke of “stunning” news. “This knocks my socks off,” said the 81-year-old. “It’s a very emotional moment for me too. I love it!”
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is touched: “That knocks my socks off.”
The Beatles broke up in 1970. “Now And Then” is considered the group’s “last” song. The song was originally composed and sung by John Lennon in the 1970s. After Lennon’s murder in 1980, the three other ex-Beatles McCartney, Ringo Starr (83) and George Harrison, who died in 2001, further developed the work.
But it was only with the help of technical innovations that the song could finally be completed – thanks to artificial intelligence, Lennon’s singing could be clearly isolated from his piano playing on an old recording.
The Beatles last topped the charts in 1969, in Germany with “Come Together” and in Great Britain with “The Ballad of John and Yoko”. “Paul McCartney & Co. have the largest gap between two number one hits ever, namely 54 years,” said GfK Entertainment. “In addition, “Now And Then” achieved the highest sales week for an international single in over two years.”
In Great Britain, the record was 44 years old: Kate Bush landed at the top position in both 1978 and 2022 with her hit “Wuthering Heights”. The Beatles’ success had been expected for days. Just ten hours after its release, “Now And Then” had reached number 42 in the British charts. Now things went up another 41 places.
It is not the only revival of a British band that was founded in the 1960s: The Rolling Stones are also at number three in the German album charts with their new record “Hackney Diamonds”, and previously they even received greetings in Germany and Great Britain Great.
