The Beatles are teasing something on their social media pages, and we think we have an idea what it’s about. Different posts appeared on August 19 on the Fab Four’s official website, Facebook page, and Instagram, each featuring presentations with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Videos by American Songwriter
TheBeatles.com splash page features the back of a canvas painting, with the numbers repeating in order in the middle of the black image. The post also features a slot to submit your email to receive the latest news from the band.
[RELATED: 5 Fascinating Alternate Takes Unearthed by The Beatles’ Anthology Albums]
The Facebook page post features a video presenting four black-and-white photos of each Beatles members from around 1964, each numbered 1 to 4. An audio soundtrack features one or more of the band members counting 1, 2, 3, 4, with a screaming audience heard in the background.
The Instagram page features four images of the numbers with Beatles-related photos seen within each number.
So what are these posts teasing? It seems like they’re hinting at a new release involving a possible fourth volume of The Beatles’ Anthology compilation series. The three original Anthology compilations were released in 1995 and 1996.
Here are a couple of reasons why it seems likely that the posts are related to the Anthology series. The back of the canvas painting seen on TheBeatles.com’s splash page is the same as the backs of the Anthology albums, only with the track lists and other information about the compilations removed.
Also, the Beatles-related images appearing within the numbers posted on Instagram also are featured in the collages that are on the covers of the Anthology collections.
More About The Beatles’ Anthology Series
The Beatles’ Anthology 1, Anthology 2, and Anthology 3 albums were released as two-CD sets in November 1995, March 1996, and October 1996, respectively. The volumes presented a collection of rare tracks, outtakes, and live performances, mostly in chronological order.
The compilations were companion pieces to a Beatles Anthology documentary series that premiered on TV in November 1995, and was released on home-video formats the following year.
As part of the Anthology TV series, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr reunited for interviews and performed together. In addition, the three surviving members teamed up to completed two demo recordings the late John Lennon had made during the 1970s—“Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.”
The finished versions of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” appeared, respectively, on Anthology 1 and Anthology 2.
The 2023 Beatles song “Now and Then,” which also was built around a late-1970s Lennon demo, originally was intended for release as part of the Anthology compilation series as well. At the time, though, Lennon’s vocals could not be adequately cleaned up, and the track was shelved. Advancements in audio technology, which were used to enhance the soundtrack and recordings of the 2021 docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, also were utilized to help finish “Now and Then.”
Media outlets and Beatles fans are speculating that this same technology may be enlisted to prepare more previously unreleased Fab Four recordings for a possible fourth Anthology volume. That, of course, remains to be seen.
Beatles aficionados likely will want to keep an eye on the band’s socials for official details about the mysterious project.
(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)
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