Twist and shout: Beatles 'come together' to record new song called Grow Old With Me

(From left) John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison of The Beatles. PHOTO: UNIVERSAL MUSIC

The Beatles have "come together" to release a new record called Grow Old With Me.

The good news for fans of the group, which broke up officially in 1975, came when Ringo Starr decided to record a cover of one of the last songs penned by John Lennon.

Starr, 79, also called up Paul McCartney, 77, to ask him to play bass.

The record producer found a way to bring in a bit of George Harrison, reported Reuters.

The producer inserted strings from Here Comes The Sun, a 1969 Beatles hit written by Harrison, into Grow Old With Me, which appears on Starr's new album What's My Name.

Lennon did a demo of Grow Old With Me for his 1980 release Double Fantasy but the song did not make the cut for that album.

Starr said Lennon's voice can be heard on the demo saying "this'll be great for you, Ringo". "It was emotional listening to John's version, because he'd written other songs for me. So I thought I'm going to do this one," said the drummer.

Lennon was shot dead in 1980.

"He's been gone quite awhile but it's emotional to me. He was one of my greatest friends," said Starr.

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In an interview with Rolling Stone, he recalled that he was devastated when he heard about Lennon's murder. He was shot in front of his New York City home by crazed fan Mark David Chapman.

"When John went, I was in the Bahamas. I was getting a phone call from my stepkids in Los Angeles saying: 'Something's happened to John.'

"And then they called and said: 'John's dead.' And I didn't know what to do.

"We got a plane to New York... we went to the apartment. 'Anything we can do?' And (Lennon's wife) Yoko (Ono) just said: 'Well, you just play with Sean (Lennon's son). Keep Sean busy.'"

Starr also recalled visiting a very sick George Harrison, who died of cancer at age 58 in 2001.

"He's laying there very ill - not long. I said: "Well, I've got to go, George. And he says: 'Do you want me to come with you?," said Starr who had to go to Boston because his daughter was having an operation.

"You know, he's dying in a bit, 'Do you want me to come with you?' How many people say great things like that to you, really give themselves?"

But Starr has reasons to be cheerful too, with the Beatles' Abbey Road album returning to top music charts recently.

"I think it impresses people that it was made 50 years ago, and we did our best and we mixed it the best way we could."

The Beatles were also their own greatest fans in the early days.

"And in England, because we only had the BBC, if we knew when a record of ours was going to be played, oh, at 11 minutes past 9, we'd pull over because we were always in the same car.

"We'd pull over and 'it's on the radio! Wow!' And then we'd drive to the gig."

Of his new song Grow Old With Me, he told Billboard magazine: "I want every bride to force their new husband to sing it to them... I've actually had men listening to it who cried."

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