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Beatles: ‘Now And Then’ Goes No. 1 in the U.K., Top 10 in the U.S.

The Beatles, in the year 2023, have a hit song. In the first chart week following the release of the song “Now And Then,” the track topped the U.K. singles…

The Beatles arrive back at London Airport after their Australian tour.
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The Beatles, in the year 2023, have a hit song.

In the first chart week following the release of the song "Now And Then," the track topped the U.K. singles chart. Official Charts notes it's the band's 18th No. 1 single in their native country. It's also their first No. 1 single in 54 years since "The Ballad of John and Yoko" topped the charts in 1969.

"Now And Then" is also the most-streamed Beatles song in one week ever in the U.K. The new single netted over 5.03 million streams in one week of release. The next highest streaming figure in one week came in 2021 when "Here Comes the Sun" was streamed 1.05 million times.

Meanwhile, in the United States, "Now And Then" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 7, which is The Beatles' 35th top 10 single. This is The Beatles' first top 10 song on the Hot 100 since the release of "Free as a Bird" from Anthology in 1996.

Citing Luminate, Billboard notes "Now And Then" had "11 million streams, 2.1 million in radio reach and 73,000 physical and digital singles sold."

The Story of "Now And Then"

As previously reported, the track's origins stem from a John Lennon demo that was first worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1995 as part of The Beatles Anthology. Peter Jackson and his team were able to develop new audio technology while making the 2021 docuseries The Beatles: Get Back. This technology made it possible to isolate Lennon's vocals on the demo and to digitally clean them up. As a result, "Now And Then" could be completed.

"Now And Then" is available in a variety of formats at The Beatles.com. Those formats include cassette and a number of vinyl pressings. The track is available for streaming and download here.

Narrowing down The Beatles catalog to just 50 songs and then ranking those 50 songs is both enjoyable and torture. After all, we're trying to rank The Beatles.

Much like snowflakes, it's unlikely any two rankings will shake out the same, but isn't that the beauty of lists like this? So, without further ado, here are The Beatles' top 50 songs ranked. Let the debating begin!

But First, The Latest Beatles News

In February 2024, The Fab Four continue pumping out film content, with the latest project being a unique biopic movie series.

Per TheBeatles.com, the biopic movie series will be broken up into four separate feature films. Each film will tell the story of the legendary band from the perspective of each member. Tentatively, these films will receive a global theatrical release in 2027.

The series is the first time Apple Corps Ltd., The Beatles and their families/estates have agreed to such a project. This project has also acquired music rights permissions. The concept of this series was thought of by director Sam Mendes. He will be helming the films in a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Neal Street Productions.

In a statement, Mendes said, "I'm honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies."

One of the latest major film projects about the Fab Four was The Beatles: Get Back. The project was a lengthy three-part, six-hour documentary of the making of the Let It Be album. It was led by Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson for Disney+.

The Beatles: Get Back was met with critical and commercial acclaim. The doc was nominated for and won five Emmy Awards. Among the honors it won were Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

The other Beatles-related film was If These Walls Could Sing, which was also a Disney+ title. The film chronicles the history of Abbey Road Studios and is directed by Mary McCartney, the daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney. Mary says in the trailer below, "Abbey Road Studios has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember." As evident by the trailer, Mary clearly has a tremendous amount of love for the legendary recording studio.

The documentary features new interviews with Elton John, Nile Rodgers, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Noel Gallagher, George Lucus, Roger Waters, David Gilmour and many more.

50. "Getting Better" - 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)

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49. "With a Little Help for My Friends" - 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)

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48. "Twist and Shout" - 'Please Please Me' (1963)

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47. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" - 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)

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46. "Please Please Me" - 'Please Please Me' (1963)

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45. "Got to Get You into My Life" - 'Revolver' (1966)

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44. "Day Tripper" - Single (1965)

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43. "Paperback Writer" - Single (1966)

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42. "P.S. I Love You" - 'Please Please Me' (1963)

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41. "Love Me Do" - 'Please Please Me' (1963)

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40. "Don't Let Me Down" - Single (1969)

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39. "Blackbird" - The Beatles (1968)

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38. "I Saw Her Standing There" - 'Please Please Me' (1963)

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37. "Across The Universe" - 'Let It Be' (1970)

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36. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" - 'Help!' (1965)

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35. "The Long and Winding Road" - 'Let It Be' (1970)

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34. "Dear Prudence" - 'The Beatles' (1968)

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33. "The Ballad of John and Yoko" - Single (1969)

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32. "Ticket to Ride" - 'Help!' (1965)

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31. "Hello, Goodbye" - Single/'Magical Mystery Tour' (1967)

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30. "We Can Work It Out" - Single (1965)

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29-22. “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Sun King,” “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End" - 'Abbey Road' (1969)

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21. "She Loves You" - Single (1963)

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20. "Eight Days A Week" - 'Beatles for Sale' (1964)

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19. "Help!" - 'Help!' (1965)

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18. "Something" - 'Abbey Road' (1969)

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17. "Penny Lane" - Single/'Magical Mystery Tour' (1967)

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16. "Eleanor Rigby" - 'Revolver' (1966)

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15. "Tomorrow Never Knows" - 'Revolver' (1966)

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14. "Get Back" - 'Let It Be' (1970)

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13. "Strawberry Fields Forever" - 'Single/'Magical Mystery Tour' (1967)

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12. "Can't Buy Me Love" - 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964)

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11. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - Single (1963)

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10. "A Hard Day's Night" - 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964)

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9. "Here Comes the Sun" - 'Abbey Road' (1969)

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8. "Revolution" - Single (1968)

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7. "In My Life" - 'Rubber Soul' (1965)

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6. "Come Together" - 'Abbey Road' (1969)

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5. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - 'The Beatles (1968)

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4. "Hey Jude" - Single (1968)

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3. "Let It Be" - 'Let It Be' (1970)

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2. "A Day in the Life" - 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)

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1. "Yesterday" - U.S. Single/'Help!' (1965)

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Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights