Paul McCartney has already hit the age of 83, has sold over 100 million copies of his songs, is one of the greatest songwriters in the history of pop music, and does not intend to stop anytime soon. His latest project, which will be titled The Boys of Dungeon Lane, is scheduled for release on May 29, 2026. All we can say based on our current knowledge about the album is that it might prove to be his most open and personal one yet.
Here are all the details you should know about the album and its creator.
What Is “The Boys of Dungeon Lane”?
The Boys of Dungeon Lane is Paul McCartney’s debut studio album after almost six years since McCartney III was released in 2020. This album was created between 2021-2025 in Hogg Hill Mill in Icklesham, UK, as well as in Los Angeles, under the collaboration of the acclaimed producer Andrew Watt, known for having worked on other projects such as with The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Iggy Pop, and Pearl Jam.
This album includes 14 songs and, as mentioned in the official announcement by Paul McCartney himself, “it not only represents the first new solo album to be released by Paul in over five years; it represents rare and revealing glimpses into memories never before shared, as well as some newly inspired love songs.”
This album has been regarded as McCartney’s most personal to date – an album which takes the listeners all the way back to where it all started, before Beatlemania, before the Ed Sullivan Show, before any of it.
What Does “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” Mean?
It is named after the actual lyrics that have been around for more than thirty years now, written by McCartney. Back in 1991, Paul McCartney released an unpublished demo of a song entitled “In Liverpool,” one of his many songs that were unpublished but widely known among fans; the lyrics go “Walking with the boys of Dungeon Lane / Aimlessly toward the cast iron shore.”
The real Dungeon Lane is a road that leads to the beach in Speke, which is the Liverpool area where McCartney spent part of his youth. “The cast iron shore” refers to the coastline in Liverpool, which is another term mentioned in a Lennon penned Beatles track titled “Glass Onion.” For the Beatles’ fans, the title alone holds much weight before even hearing a note from the song.
“When thinking of those very things about days gone by, and whether I am only talking about the past, but at the same time how I not talk about anything else can? This album is all about memories of Liverpool; there is some mention of John and Forthlin Road, the street on which I lived.” These were the words McCartney gave to Rolling Stone upon announcing his album.
The Singles So Far
“Days We Left Behind” – March 26, 2026
This single came out alongside news about the upcoming record release and helped set the overall tone for what was to come. According to Alexis Petridis, writing for The Guardian, it was wistful and lovely and “as McCartney-esque as it’s possible to be,” earning four stars out of five. As with the lyrics, the production itself is quite minimalist: it’s just the fingerpicked bass line underneath the singer’s voice.
It earned over 50 million streams on both Spotify and Apple Music, as well as on YouTube, in less than two weeks. That alone speaks volumes about how devoted McCartney’s fanbase is, especially considering his long career.
“Home to Us” — Released on May 8, 2026, with Ringo Starr
It is this song that really took everybody’s breath away. “Home to Us” is the world’s first duet sung by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two remaining members of the Beatles who for more than fifty years created music together but never recorded a song in which both performed as lead singers.
There is even an interesting story behind this song, which is as pleasant as the song itself. McCartney invited Starr into his studio to record some drums for his album. At the same time, producer Andrew Watt was working with Starr alone, since both lived close by. After Starr had finished playing, McCartney listened to it and realized, “Hey, that’s quite good!” They decided to work the whole song up from that and write it especially for Ringo.
“I told Andrew that we could put together something for him,” McCartney said during an exclusive listening party held at a secret location in Los Angeles. “I mean this tune is entirely written for Ringo. So as you can hear, this track is dedicated to Ringo, who was born in the Dingle, and he lived it.”
The Dingle is an economically challenged part of Liverpool. McCartney was brought up in the nearby areas of Speke and Allerton. This is a song about two boys from the same city, same tough post-War background, who went on to change music in so many ways. “This song is called Home to Us.”
Also featured on the song is Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Sharleen Spiteri of the band Texas, introduced during a special fan listening party held by McCartney at his exclusive studio in Abbey Road Studio Two on May 5, 2026. Fifty fans were invited to participate.
The SNL Appearance and the TikTok Live Premiere of the Album
On May 16, 2026, McCartney made a return appearance on Saturday Night Live for the ninth time in his illustrious career, singing three songs of his post-Beatles repertoire as the musical guest of the final episode of season 51, hosted by comedian Will Ferrell. Almost instantly, online fan circles started discussing the chances of Ringo Starr making an unexpected appearance in order to perform “Home to Us,” even though Ringo’s own All Starr Band tour was set to kick off only at the end of the month, on May 28. The question was allegedly emerging as a “breakout” search on Google Trends.
As we speak on May 22, McCartney is having a TikTok Live performance of the album, followed by a live Q&A session for fans. It seems that this will be among the most notable applications of the social network in the career of the legendary musician.
How Does It Sound?
The entire track listing includes:
As You Lie There · Lost Horizon · Days We Left Behind · Ripples in a Pond · Mountain Top · Down South · We Two · Come Inside · Never Know · Home to Us · Life Can Be Hard · First Star of the Night · Salesman Saint · Momma Gets By
According to his official press release about the album, McCartney said, “It’s quite musically eclectic — from Wings rock through Beatles harmonies, and McCartney grooves, right through to intimacy, storytelling through melody, and character songs.” This can definitely be felt throughout this collection of music, and in the stripped-down production.
McCartney plays a variety of instruments on each of these tracks. Andrew Watt seems to have tapped into something special about this legendary artist.
Importance of the Album
While McCartney has released other albums in the past that have reached back into his memories, such as Liverpool Sound Collage, Liverpool Oratorio, and even allusions to both Lennon and Harrison over the course of years of solo albums, he has never produced an album that has been this intentional about exploring what life was like before he became a musician.
The lads from Dungeon Lane were not known for anything. They were children making their way towards the beach in a city that was only recently recovering from war. One of them would eventually grow up to be the most successful songwriter in the history of time. This is his way of trying to remember who he was before that time.
Ringo Starr will go on tour with The All Starr Band on May 28 starting in Temecula, California. McCartney currently does not have any plans for any other concerts in 2026 aside from those at Fonda Theatre. Whether or not they’ll perform “Home to Us” on stage is anyone’s guess.
The album is due out on May 29. The thing is clear – it’s worth listening to.
- All information sourced from Paul McCartney’s official website
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