Abbey Road was the last album John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded together as a band, but it was not the last Beatles album to be released. Issued on September 26, 1969, it came before Let It Be, which arrived on May 8, 1970, after the group’s breakup had become public.
That distinction also matters when discussing Now and Then, released on November 2, 2023 and officially presented as the last Beatles song. It was completed decades later, not recorded as a new studio album with all four musicians together.
Abbey Road, Let It Be and Now and Then: three different farewells
| Release | Date | What made it the last |
|---|---|---|
| Abbey Road | September 26, 1969 | The last studio album recorded by the four members together as a band. |
| Let It Be | May 8, 1970 | The final original studio album released during the Beatles’ original era. |
| Now and Then | November 2, 2023 | A song finished later and issued as a single, with contributions from all four members made at different times. |
The dates are the original release dates documented by the Beatles’ official website. The 2023 project does not change the recording and release sequence of the 1969 and 1970 albums.
Why was Let It Be released after Abbey Road?
In January 1969, the Beatles began rehearsals and recording for a project first known as Get Back. The aim was a more direct form of performance, with cameras following their work first at Twickenham Film Studios and then at Apple’s London headquarters. Keyboard player Billy Preston joined the sessions.
On January 30, the band and Preston performed on Apple’s rooftop in Savile Row. It was the Beatles’ final live performance as a group. The concert was part of the filmed project, but it did not mean that recording work immediately ended: the Get Back material continued to be developed afterwards.
Engineer Glyn Johns assembled versions of the tapes, but that proposed album was set aside. With the film and record still unfinished, the four musicians recorded the more elaborately produced Abbey Road. That explains why a project begun earlier appeared later, renamed Let It Be and with further production by Phil Spector.
What were the Beatles’ final recording sessions?
Work on Abbey Road continued into August 1969. On August 18, Paul added a short piano overdub to The End; on August 20, editing I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and assembling the album marked the last time all four were together in the studio, according to the Beatles Bible’s session chronology. This does not mean every technical task was completed on that date.
There is a further distinction: on January 3, 1970, George, Paul and Ringo recorded I Me Mine for Let It Be without John Lennon, who was in Denmark. Calling Abbey Road the last album recorded by all four together is therefore more accurate than claiming no Beatles-related recordings took place afterwards.
Had the Beatles broken up before Let It Be was released?
Yes, in the sense that the split had already become public. Lennon privately told his bandmates of his intention to leave in September 1969. On April 10, 1970, McCartney’s responses to a questionnaire promoting his solo album were reported as an announcement of the breakup. His answers did not unequivocally establish whether the separation would be permanent.
The breakup was a process, not something caused by one interview or the rooftop concert. Creative differences, personal relationships and management disputes had been developing for some time. By the time Let It Be was released on May 8, 1970, news of the split had circulated for weeks. The film of the same name accompanied the album’s release.
Timeline: from the London rooftop to the last song
- January 2, 1969: Filmed work begins on Get Back at Twickenham Film Studios.
- January 30, 1969: The Beatles make their final live appearance as a group on Apple’s rooftop, with Billy Preston.
- August 1969: Final collective sessions for Abbey Road; all four are together in the studio for the last time on August 20.
- September 26, 1969: Abbey Road is released.
- January 3, 1970: George, Paul and Ringo record I Me Mine without Lennon.
- April 10 and May 8, 1970: The breakup becomes public in April; Let It Be is released in May.
- 1994 and 1995: Yoko Ono passes on Lennon’s demo; Paul, George and Ringo attempt to finish Now and Then.
- 2021 and 2022: Audio separation technology used by Peter Jackson’s team opens a path forward; Paul and Ringo finish the recording.
- November 2, 2023: Now and Then is released worldwide as the last Beatles song.
The sequence shows why “last concert,” “last album recorded,” “last album released” and “last song” point to different moments.
How was Now and Then completed, and what did AI actually do?
John Lennon made a home demo of Now and Then with vocals and piano in the late 1970s. Yoko Ono gave the recording to the remaining Beatles in 1994, along with material that became Free as a Bird and Real Love. In 1995, Paul, George and Ringo worked on the song with producer Jeff Lynne, but the technology of the time could not cleanly separate John’s voice from his piano.
The breakthrough came through MAL, the audio technology Peter Jackson’s team used when restoring the sound for The Beatles: Get Back. Source separation made it possible to isolate Lennon’s original recorded voice. This is not the same as synthesizing a new voice to make him sing words he never recorded: the release uses his preserved performance from the tape.
In 2022, McCartney and Starr finished the song. The recording combines Lennon’s voice, guitars Harrison played in 1995, new drums from Ringo, and instruments and vocals contributed by Paul. It also features a string arrangement overseen by Paul and Giles Martin and backing-vocal elements taken from earlier Beatles recordings. The single was released on November 2, 2023, paired with Love Me Do.
So what was the Beatles’ real ending?
It depends on the question. If you want the final studio album made by the quartet during the band’s active years, the answer is Abbey Road. If you mean the last original album issued around the breakup, it is Let It Be. For the track officially described as their final song, the answer is Now and Then, completed without the four musicians physically reuniting.
All three answers can be true because recording, release and later completion are different events in the Beatles’ history.
