2 Beatles Songs from ’90s to Be Remixed with AI for Clearer Vocals by John Lennon, Says George Harrison’s Son

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:58 JST, January 23, 2025

Two songs by the Beatles, originally released in the 1990s, are set to be remixed using artificial intelligence to enhance John Lennon’s vocals, Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, revealed during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.

After Lennon was shot and killed in 1980, the other members of the Beatles received demos of the songs from his wife Yoko Ono. Lennon had recorded the vocals and piano for the demos at his home before he died.

The surviving members added their vocals and instrumentation and released “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” as new songs by the band.

They also worked on “Now And Then,” but decided to shelve the piece after finding Lennon’s vocals and the piano for the song could not be separated.

Later, AI made it possible for Lennon’s vocals to be isolated from the piano. Paul McCartney contributed bass and piano to the track and Ringo Starr added drums, while guitar by George Harrison was provided through a recording from the 1990s, before his death in 2001. “Now And Then” was released in 2023 as the Beatles’ last song.

But as for “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” though recorded with cutting-edge technology in the 1990s, Lennon’s vocals sound distorted, and sounds that appear to be instrumental are not completely separated.

“I hope for it to be worked on the same way … to remix those original songs using the same technology as we used on ‘Now And Then,’ because they didn’t have that in the ’90s,” said Dhani.

He and Sean Ono Lennon, son of John Lennon, listened to a version of “Free As a Bird” with the vocals and piano separated by AI.

“We were both very impressed at how it sounded,” said Dhani.

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Correction

This article previously misspelled the name of Dhani Harrison. It has been corrected.