1-2-3-4: The Beatles ‘Anthology’ Gets 2025 Upgraded Expansion

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The Beatles (Photo: Bruce McBroom/© Apple Corps Ltd.; used with permission)

The Beatles’ landmark 1995 Anthology series has been restored and remastered in celebration of its 30th anniversary with 2025 updated releases on screen, as music collections and in print. The original documentary series, which ran across three nights in November ’95 on ABC-TV in the U.S. and on ITV in the U.K., has been expanded with a brand-new episode that includes previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr coming together between 1994 and 1995 to work on The Anthology and reflecting on their shared life with John Lennon as The Beatles.

From the August 21 announcement from Apple Corps Ltd. and Disney+: Instead of a standard treatment centered on an outside narrator and talking heads, The Anthology featured John, Paul, George and Ringo candidly telling their own story, with all its complexities and contradictions. It introduced The Beatles to new generations of viewers and listeners and marked the start of a creative and commercial afterlife that continues to this day. It’s anticipated that the 2025 celebration will continue to expand the audience for The Beatles’ music and influence.

Watch the announcement video

The Beatles’ acclaimed Anthology documentary series has been restored and remastered. Along with the new episode, the program will stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning on November 26. The original episodes trace the legendary journey that began in Liverpool and Hamburg and soon captivated the world. They bring to life the timeless stories — of Beatlemania, the band’s groundbreaking arrival in the U.S., their role at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture, their spiritual exploration in India, and their eventual breakup. And through it all, the constant thread: the music, always the music.

The restoration has been overseen by Apple Corps’ production team, working with Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films & Park Road Post teams along with Giles Martin, who has created new audio mixes for the majority of the featured music.

The musical side of The Anthology Collection, originally curated by George Martin, now remastered by Giles Martin, in the form of three double albums of rare material, a shadow story to the one told in the documentaries. They are an enthralling insight into the early development of songs that became the recorded masterpieces that resonate just as loudly today as they did when they were first recorded.

It also has an important new element. Anthology 4, newly curated by Giles Martin, includes 13 previously unreleased demos and session recordings and other rare recordings. It also includes new mixes of The Beatles’ Anthology-associated hit singles: the GRAMMY-winning “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” given new life by their original producer, Jeff Lynne, using de-mixed John Lennon vocals. The original “Free As A Bird” music video has also been beautifully restored.

Both new mixes are placed alongside the band’s most recent U.K. No. 1 hit single, 2023’s GRAMMY-winning “Now And Then,” the last Beatles song. All three singles were created from rudimentary home demos John recorded in the 1970s, later completed with vocal and instrumental parts recorded by Paul, George and Ringo.

Across all the Anthology albums, there are 191 tracks which will be released on November 21 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe in deluxe 12-LP 180-gram vinyl and 8-CD box sets. Both sets include the original sleeve notes for Anthology 1, 2 and 3; the new Anthology 4 includes track notes written by Kevin Howlett and an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews recorded with The Beatles’ close friend and adviser Derek Taylor. The 12-LP edition is available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada (coming here) and in the U.K. (coming here). The 8-CD edition is available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada (coming here) and in the U.K. (coming here). See the complete tracklist below.

A two-page spread in The Beatles Anthology book (via Apple Corps Ltd. and Chronicle Books).

The 25th Anniversary Edition of 2000’s The Beatles Anthology book will be released on October 14 by Apple Corps Ltd. and Chronicle Books. Throughout its pages, John, Paul, George and Ringo share their honest, intimate and revelatory recollections of the band’s journey. Their memories are accompanied by impressions from their closest colleagues, including Neil Aspinall, George Martin, Derek Taylor and others. The bestselling 368-page book is beautifully illustrated with more than 1,300 photos, documents, artwork, and other memorabilia from the band’s archives.

It’s available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.

ANTHOLOGY 1
CD Disc One
1: Free As A Bird (1995 mix)
2: John Lennon Speech 1
3: That’ll Be The Day
4: In Spite Of All The Danger
5: Paul McCartney Speech 1
6: Hallelujah, I Love Her So (Home demo)
7: You’ll Be Mine (Home demo)
8: Cayenne (Home demo)
9: Paul McCartney Speech 2
10: My Bonnie
11: Ain’t She Sweet
12: Cry For A Shadow
13: John Lennon Speech 2
14: Brian Epstein Speech 1
15: Searchin’ (Decca audition)
16: Three Cool Cats (Decca audition)
17: The Sheik Of Araby (Decca audition)
18: Like Dreamers Do (Decca audition)
19: Hello Little Girl (Decca audition)
20: Brian Epstein Speech 2
21: Besame Mucho (June 1962 version)
22: Love Me Do (First version)
23: How Do You Do It
24: Please Please Me (First version)
25: One After 909 (Takes 3, 4 and 5)
26: One After 909 (Edit of Takes 4 and 5)
27: Lend Me Your Comb (BBC recording)
28: I’ll Get You (Sunday Night at the London Palladium)
29: John Lennon Speech 3
30: I Saw Her Standing There (Live in Stockholm)
31: From Me To You (Live in Stockholm)
32: Money (That’s What I Want) (Live in Stockholm)
33: You Really Got A Hold On Me (Live in Stockholm)
34: Roll Over Beethoven (Live in Stockholm)

CD Disc Two
1: She Loves You (Royal Variety Performance)
2: Till There Was You (Royal Variety Performance)
3: Twist And Shout (Royal Variety Performance)
4: This Boy (The Morecambe And Wise Show)
5: I Want To Hold Your Hand (The Morecambe And Wise Show)
6: Speech From The Morecambe And Wise Show
7: Moonlight Bay (The Morecambe And Wise Show)
8: Can’t Buy Me Love (Take 2 with solo from Take 1)
9: All My Loving (The Ed Sullivan Show)
10: You Can’t Do That (Take 6)
11: And I Love Her (Take 2)
12: A Hard Day’s Night (Take 1)
13: I Wanna Be Your Man (Around The Beatles)
14: Long Tall Sally (Around The Beatles)
15: Boys (Around The Beatles session)
16: Shout (Around The Beatles)
17: I’ll Be Back (Take 2)
18: I’ll Be Back (Take 3)
19: You Know What To Do (Demo)
20: No Reply (Demo)
21: Mr Moonlight (Takes 1 and 4)
22: Leave My Kitten Alone (Take 5)
23: No Reply (Take 2)
24: Eight Days A Week (Takes 1, 2 and 4)
25: Eight Days A Week (Take 5)
26: Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (Take 2)

ANTHOLOGY 2
CD Disc One
1: Real Love (1996 mix)
2: Yes It Is (Takes 2 and 14)
3: I’m Down (Take 1)
4: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (Take 5)
5: If You’ve Got Trouble (Take 1)
6: That Means A Lot (Take 1)
7: Yesterday (Take 1)
8: It’s Only Love (Takes 3 and 2)
9: I Feel Fine (Blackpool Night Out)
10: Ticket To Ride (Blackpool Night Out)
11: Yesterday (Blackpool Night Out)
12: Help! (Blackpool Night Out)
13: Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (Live at Shea Stadium, New York)
14: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Take 1)
15: I’m Looking Through You (Take 1)
16: 12-Bar Original (Take 2 edited)
17: Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)
18: Got To Get You Into My Life (Take 5)
19: And Your Bird Can Sing (Take 2)
20: Taxman (Take 11)
21: Eleanor Rigby (Take 14 – Strings only)
22: I’m Only Sleeping (Rehearsal)
23: I’m Only Sleeping (Take 1)
24: Rock And Roll Music (Live in Tokyo)
25: She’s A Woman (Live in Tokyo)

CD Disc Two
1: Strawberry Fields Forever (Home demo sequence)
2: Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)
3: Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7 and edit piece)
4: Penny Lane (Remix)
5: A Day In The Life (Takes 1, 2, 6 and orchestra)
6: Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8)
7: Only A Northern Song (Takes 3 and 12)
8: Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! (Takes 1 and 2)
9: Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! (Take 7)
10: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Takes 6, 7 and 8)
11: Within You Without You (Instrumental)
12: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Take 5)
13: You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) (Stereo remix)
14: I Am The Walrus (Take 16) 15: The Fool On The Hill (Demo)
16: Your Mother Should Know (Take 27)
17: The Fool On The Hill (Take 4)
18: Hello, Goodbye (Take 16)
19: Lady Madonna (Takes 3 and 4)
20: Across The Universe (Take 2)

Anthology 3
CD Disc One
1: A Beginning
2: Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Esher demo with false start)
3: Helter Skelter (Take 2 edited)
4: Mean Mr Mustard (Esher demo)
5: Polythene Pam (Esher demo)
6: Glass Onion (Esher demo)
7: Junk (Esher demo)
8: Piggies (Esher demo)
9: Honey Pie (Esher demo edited)
10: Don’t Pass Me By (Take 3 with Take 5 vocal)
11: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (First version – Take 5)
12: Good Night (Rehearsal and Take 34)
13: Cry Baby Cry (Take 1)
14: Blackbird (Take 4)
15: Sexy Sadie (Take 6)
16: While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Acoustic version – Take 1)
17: Hey Jude (Take 2)
18: Not Guilty (Take 102 edited)
19: Mother Nature’s Son (Take 2)
20: Glass Onion (Original mono mix)
21: Rocky Raccoon (Take 8)
22: What’s The New Mary Jane (Take 4)
23: Step Inside Love / Los Paranoias (Studio jam)
24: I’m So Tired (Edit of Takes 3, 6 and 9)
25: I Will (Take 1)
26: Why Don’t We Do It In The Road (Take 4) 27: Julia (Take 2)

CD Disc Two
1: I’ve Got A Feeling (Apple Studio)
2: She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Apple Studio)
3: Dig A Pony (Apple Studio)
4: Two Of Us (Apple Studio)
5: For You Blue (Apple Studio)
6: Teddy Boy (Apple Studio)
7: Medley: Rip It Up / Shake, Rattle And Roll / Blue Suede Shoes (Apple Studio jam)
8: The Long And Winding Road (Apple Studio)
9: Oh! Darling (Apple Studio)
10: All Things Must Pass (Demo)
11: Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues (Apple Studio jam)
12: Get Back (Third rooftop performance)
13: Old Brown Shoe (Demo)
14: Octopus’s Garden (Take 2)
15: Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 5)
16: Something (Demo)
17: Come Together (Take 1)
18: Come and Get It (Demo – 1996 remix)
19: Ain’t She Sweet (Studio jam)
20: Because (Vocals only)
21: Let It Be (Apple Studio)
22: I Me Mine (Take 16)
23: The End (Remix with the final chord of A Day In The Life)

ANTHOLOGY 4
CD Disc One
1: I Saw Her Standing There (Take 2)
2: Money (That’s What I Want) (RM7 undubbed)
3: This Boy (Takes 12 and 13)
4: Tell Me Why (Takes 4 and 5)
5: If I Fell (Take 11)
6: Matchbox (Take 1)
7: Every Little Thing (Takes 6 and 7)
8: I Need You (Take 1)
9: I’ve Just Seen A Face (Take 3)
10: In My Life (Take 1)
11: Nowhere Man (First version – Take 2)
12: Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version – unnumbered mix)
13: Love You To (Take 7)
14: Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26)
15: She’s Leaving Home (Take 1 – instrumental)
16: Baby, You’re A Rich Man (Takes 11 and 12)
17: All You Need Is Love (Rehearsal for BBC broadcast)
18: The Fool On The Hill (Take 5 – Instrumental)
19: I Am The Walrus (Take 19 – strings, brass, clarinet overdub)

CD Disc Two
1: Hey Bulldog (Take 4 – instrumental)
2: Good Night (Take 10 with a guitar part from Take 5)
3: While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third Version – Take 27)
4: (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care (Studio jam)
5: Helter Skelter (Second version – Take 17)
6: I Will (Take 29)
7: Can You Take Me Back? (Take 1)
8: Julia (Two rehearsals)
9: Get Back (Take 8)
10: Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal)
11: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
12: You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36)
13: Here Comes The Sun (Take 9)
14: Something (Take 39 – instrumental – strings only)
15: Free As A Bird (2025 mix)
16: Real Love (2025 mix)
17: Now And Then

The 12-LP edition is available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada (coming here) and in the U.K. (coming here). The 8-CD edition is available for pre-order in the U.S. here, in Canada (coming here) and in the U.K. (coming here).