New Beatles short film delves into the making of 1994’s ‘Free as a Bird’

A new short film about the making of The Beatles’ 1994 single “Free as a Bird” has just been released to YouTube.

Free As A Bird: A Song Reborn explores the making of the song that reunited Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr after 24 years. The trio used an unfinished John Lennon demo to create the tune.

The short film features never-before-seen footage from the studio sessions for the track, and sees the trio work on it with producer Jeff Lynne. They also talk about Lennon, and how they approached the song in his absence.

The making of “Free as a Bird” is also featured in the recently rereleased The Beatles Anthology, a restored and remastered version of ABC’s 1995 documentary that’s currently streaming on Disney+. The original series was made up of eight parts, but the new version has been expanded to include a ninth installment, which features more from the “Free as a Bird” sessions.

“Free as a Bird” went on to become a top-10 hit for The Beatles, their 34th in the U.S. The track also earned them a Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.