Was John Lennon’s Ghost Actually in the Studio During the Beatles’ Mid-1990s Reunion?

When death and celebrity mix, it can make for an especially compelling narrative, as was the case for a story involving John Lennon’s ghost making itself known in the studio during The Beatles’ mid-1990s reunion. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr (or the “Threetles”) met in February 1994 to work on an unreleased Lennon demo that would become part of the band’s Anthology 1 compilation album.

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Some corners of the internet suggest Lennon’s ghost was there in the studio with the rest of his bandmates. But are we really to believe a dead rockstar was lurking in the shadows?

The Story of John Lennon’s Ghost in the Studio

In August 2025, The Mirror published a story that cited an unlinked interview with Paul McCartney conducted by OnHike.com. For whatever it’s worth, this writer was unable to track down the primary source of this interview. But for context purposes, we’ll repeat the narrative published in the British tabloid. In the alleged conversation, McCartney recalled a series of uncanny occurrences happening mid-recording sessions.

“There were a lot of strange goings-on in the studio,” he said of the sessions for Lennon’s demo, “Free As a Bird”. “Noises that shouldn’t have been there and equipment doing all manner of weird things. There was just an overall feeling that John was around. We put one of those spoof backward recordings on the end of the single for a laugh to give all those Beatles nuts something to do. I think it was the line of a George Formby song. Then we were listening to the finished single in the studio one night, and it gets to the end, and it goes, ‘zzzwrk nggggwaaahhh jooohn lennnnnon qwwwrk.’ I swear to God. We were like, ‘It’s John. He likes it!’”

McCartney also mentioned seeing a white peacock outside the studio. Lennon had once told his son, Julian Lennon, that if he were ever to come to him from the afterlife, he’d do so in the form of a white feather.

How the Beatles Got Through Their Mid-1990s Reunion

Ghost stories about dead rock stars visiting their former bandmates in the studio are certainly intriguing. But with no primary source available, we feel like this tale might be taller than one might think. As is often the case with scary stories, some parts of the narrative were true. Paul McCartney said in multiple interviews that the sound of the reverse audio at the end of “Free As a Bird” really did sound like it said “John Lennon.” According to the Paul McCartney Project, the audio in question wasn’t a George Formby song. It was Lennon himself saying, “Turned out nice again.”

Somewhat ironically, The Beatles (or Threetles) were specifically pretending Lennon wasn’t in the studio at the time of their mid-1990s reunion. They put up this charade not because they were afraid of the paranormal but because it made diving back into Lennon’s work less emotionally and spiritually taxing. There was, after all, something a bit perverse about “working” with their dead ex-bandmate. None of the surviving Beatles wanted to do anything that would make themselves or Lennon’s family uncomfortable or tarnish the group’s legacy.

“I said to Ringo, ‘Let’s pretend that we’ve nearly finished some recordings and John is going off to Spain on holiday,’” McCartney later recalled. He’s just rung up and said, ‘There’s one more song I wouldn’t mind getting on the album. But it’s not finished. So if you’re up for it, take it in the studio, do your stuff like you would normally do. Have fun with it, and I trust you.’ With that scenario in place, Ringo then said, ‘Oh, this could even be joyous.’ And it was.”

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