Sir Peter Jackson is the mastermind behind an iconic Beatles performance at Glastonbury Festival. Photo / Getty Images
Sir Peter Jackson is the mastermind behind an iconic Beatles performance at Glastonbury Festival. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand's own Sir Peter Jackson has been revealed as the mastermind behind an incredible Beatles performance at Glastonbury last night where the late John Lennon appeared to sing alongside his old bandmate, Sir Paul McCartney.
According to the Daily Mail, McCartney, 80, delighted fans at the Worthy Farms musicfestival with a selection of his greatest hits which included a duet with Lennon of I've Got A Feeling - made possible by Jackson's use of custom artificial intelligence (AI).
Crowds were thrilled to see Lennon "on stage" with former bandmate Sir Paul McCartney. Photo / Getty Images
It's believed Jackson was able to eliminate certain audio from old footage to isolate Lennon's voice, a technique used by the Kiwi filmmaker in his documentary The Beatles: Get Back, about the making of the album Let It Be.
According to the Daily Mail, the film used custom-made AI to manipulate the original recordings by separating out the sounds of instruments, speech and background noise. The process allowed editors to use footage that had previously been unusable.
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND - JUNE 25: Paul McCartney performs on The Pyramid Stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 25, 2022 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Harry Du
As the same techniques were employed to bring Lennon "back to life" at Glastonbury last night, McCartney stood on stage and told fans: "I've got a special little thing here. One day, Peter Jackson rings me up and says he can take John's vocals and isolate them so that you can play live with John on tour. He said, 'do you fancy that?'"
And after wowing the crowd, McCartney said: "That's so special for me, man. I know it's virtual but come on – it's John. We're back together."
"He's 80. He's played over two and a half hours. The last hour was as good as it will ever get. He's a song writing genius. We're lucky he's touched our lives. He's SIR Paul McCartney. Take a bow Paul … that was unbelievable," tweeted a fan.
He’s 80. He’s played over 2 and a half hours. The last hour was as good as it will ever get.
He’s a songwriting genius. We’re lucky he’s touched our lives.
Another posted: "How do you top a guest appearance from Dave Grohl and a visit from Bruce Springsteen? I know how, by being a f***ing Beatle and playing live with the vocals of John Lennon! Wow! We have witnessed something VERY special tonight."
Jackson has previously revealed his own fervour for the Beatles, sharing how he came to put together his documentary about the band.
During a publicity tour for his Beatles film, Jackson allegedly confessed to being a long-time fan and, in an interview with pop culture news outlet LRM Online, said he had inquired as to whether there was any additional footage of the iconic band from Let It Be when it was shot in 1969.
Jackson went on to secure exclusive access to the band's private film archives and turned 60 hours of footage into a three-part documentary. The process reportedly took two years to piece together - longer than his Lord of the Rings films which required three to four months each.
