The song was not included on the BBC Radio 1 playlist, prompting criticism from fans and British Members of Parliament.

"Real Love" was the last new Beatles song released in the lifetime of George Harrison, who died in 2001, and the last single by the group until "Now and Then" in 2023.

Eventually the work evolved under the title "Real Life", a song which Lennon would record at least six times in 1979 and 1980, and was then abandoned.

Some takes included an acoustic guitar, while the eventual Beatles release features Lennon on piano, with rudimentary double-tracked vocals, and a tambourine.

[3] Lennon appears to have considered recording "Real Love" for his and Ono's 1980 album Double Fantasy.

[4] The song remained largely forgotten until 1988, when take 6 of "Real Love" appeared on the Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack album.

By the early 1990s, the idea of finishing some of Lennon's old songs was inspired by former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall and Harrison, who first requested some demos from Ono.

[5]McCartney, Harrison and Starr then focused their attention on four songs: "Free as a Bird", "Real Love", "Grow Old with Me" and "Now and Then".

The remaining Beatles then turned their attention to "Real Love", which, co-producer Jeff Lynne later remarked, at least "had a complete set of words".

[8] With George Martin declining to produce the new recording, the Beatles brought in Electric Light Orchestra's Jeff Lynne, who had worked extensively with Harrison, including as part of the Traveling Wilburys, and had already co-produced "Free as a Bird".

The problem I had with "Real Love" was that not only was there a 60 cycles mains hum going on, there was also a terrible amount of hiss, because it had been recorded at a low level.

So I had to get rid of the hiss and the mains hum, and then there were clicks all the way through it ... We'd spend a day on it, then listen back and still find loads more things wrong ...

[9]Although "Real Love" was more complete than "Free as a Bird", which had required the addition of some lyrics by McCartney,[5] the song also suffered from problems with Lennon's timing.

[6] Lynne emphasised that the three remaining Beatles were keen to ensure the song sounded very "Beatles-y": "What we were trying to do was create a record that was timeless, so we steered away from using state-of the-art gear.

Added to the demo were the sounds of a double bass (originally owned by Elvis Presley's bassist, Bill Black), Fender Jazz bass guitar, a couple of Fender Stratocaster guitars, one of which was Harrison's psychedelically-painted "Rocky" Strat (as seen in the "I Am the Walrus" video), as well as a Ludwig drum kit.

[6] Other than their regular instruments, a Baldwin Combo Harpsichord (as played by George Martin on the Beatles song "Because") and a harmonium (which appeared on the band's 1965 hit single "We Can Work It Out") were also used.

The attitude in the studio was very relaxed, according to Lynne: "Paul and George would strike up the backing vocals – and all of a sudden it's the Beatles again! ...

Starr said that the lightheartedness was key to ensuring he, Harrison and McCartney could focus on the task: "We just pretended that John had gone on holiday or out for tea and had left us the tape to play with.

[11] The single's chart performance was subsequently hindered by BBC Radio 1's exclusion of "Real Love" from its playlist.

The exclusion of "Real Love" provoked a fierce reaction from fans also, and elicited comment from two members of parliament (MPs).

[12] McCartney wrote an 800-word article for British newspaper The Daily Mirror about the alleged ban, in which he stated: "the Beatles don't need our new single, 'Real Love', to be a hit.

It's not as if our careers depend on it … It's very heartening to know that, while the kindergarten kings of Radio 1 may think the Beatles are too old to come out to play, a lot of younger British bands don't seem to share that view.

The remix of "Real Love" cleans up Lennon's vocal further, and reinstates several deleted elements originally recorded in 1995, such as lead guitar phrases and drum fills, as well as making the harpsichord and harmonium more prominent in the mix.

The song's lyrics have been interpreted by one reviewer to be conveying the message that "love is the answer to loneliness" and "that connection is the antidote to unreality".

This combination of lyrics and harmony turning at the same point is a common Beatles device, and helps give the song a wistful feeling.