Yoko doesn't rule out Beatles reunion

John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono says she would consider giving the green light to surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr releasing another of Lennon's unfinished demos. Ono spoke to The Washington Post and said it was not entirely out of the question to have one of Lennon's demos, called "Now And Then," completed and released under the "The Beatles" name somewhere down the road. "Now And Then" was one of the songs that McCartney, Starr and the late George Harrison began in the mid '90s for The Beatles Anthology project. Ono explained that, "I sent those songs to them when the situation was quite different. Now that George is gone, I don't know if the same would apply." She added: "I will consider the possibility, that is, when I get the call."

The late '70s Lennon demo was one of four tracks that Ono gave the surviving Beatles to finish in 1994. The trio, dubbed "The Threetles" by the British press, fleshed out two Lennon songs -- "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love." They passed on another already issued track called "Grow Old With Me," but briefly began work on a third Lennon song called "Now And Then" which they scrapped because of a loud buzzing found on the original tape that couldn't be fixed.

Shortly after, the group started work an all-new McCartney-Harrison collaboration called "All For Love" which also remains unreleased.

Back in 2002 during a MSN Internet chat, McCartney mentioned finishing the unreleased reunion track "Now And Then," saying, "There was another track under consideration for us to work on but we didn't get around to it, so I wonder if there will be a chance in the future. I wouldn't mind doing it."

In 1995 ELO co-founder Jeff Lynne, who produced the Beatles' reunion sessions, spoke about the "lost" Beatles track to Beatlefan magazine, recalling that, "The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. It was sort of a bluesy sort of ballad. It was a very sweet song; I liked it a lot, and I wish we could have finished it."

As McCartney's relationship with Yoko Ono is still strained following her refusal to allow him permission to change the songwriting credits on his 2002 Back In The U.S. live album from Lennon-McCartney to McCartney-Lennon, a new collaboration between both camps seems unlikely for now.