Paul McCartney Announces First Album in Six Years, ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’
After five years of anticipation, Paul McCartney is set to release his new album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” on May 29th via MPL/Capitol. The announcement arrived alongside the release of the lead single, “Days We Left Behind,” a nostalgic track described as a love letter to Liverpool.
This marks McCartney’s first studio album since “McCartney III,” a self-produced project released in December 2020 during the pandemic. “Days We Left Behind” premiered on BBC Radio Merseyside on Thursday, March 26th, 2026, at 2:50 p.m. U.K. Time (10:45 a.m. ET).
A Nostalgic Journey to Liverpool
“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” is deeply rooted in McCartney’s formative years in Liverpool, reflecting on memories of his childhood and early musical adventures with bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison. The album’s title originates from a lyric within “Days We Left Behind,” referencing Dungeon Lane, a street near McCartney’s childhood home in Speke.
“This is very much a memory song for me,” McCartney stated in a press release. “The album title, ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane,’ comes from a lyric in this track. I was thinking just that, about the days I left behind and I do often wonder if I’m just writing about the past but then I reckon how can you write about anything else? It’s just a lot of memories of Liverpool.” He further recalled a working-class upbringing, noting, “We didn’t have much at all but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice you didn’t have much.”
Collaboration with Andrew Watt
The album was produced by Andrew Watt, a highly sought-after producer known for his operate with veteran artists including the Rolling Stones (“Hackney Diamonds”), Ozzy Osbourne (“Ordinary Man” and “Patient Number 9”), and Elton John. Watt won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2021, shortly before beginning work with McCartney.
Tracklist: ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’
- 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
- Sailsman Saint
- Momma Gets By
Early Hints and Teaser Campaign
The album title was initially revealed through a teaser campaign featuring posters appearing around Liverpool. McCartney’s brother, Michael McGear McCartney, confirmed the posters’ connection to the new album on social media, noting that the logo was designed by his son. Fans also received a link to a Google Maps page showcasing the actual Dungeon Lane via a text message from McCartney’s account.
Further foreshadowing came with McCartney posting a black-and-white photograph, believed to be from the late 1950s, on his social media channels. The use of bird emojis also hinted at the album’s themes, referencing a popular birdwatching area near Dungeon Lane and a bird guide McCartney carried as a boy.
The phrase “the boys of Dungeon Lane” previously appeared in a 1991 demo for an unreleased song, “In Liverpool,” with lyrics referencing the street and a coastal area of Liverpool also mentioned in the Beatles song “Glass Onion.”
Live Performances and Upcoming Dates
The album announcement coincides with McCartney’s two-night performance at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on March 27th and 28th, 2026, his first live shows since concluding a 2025 arena tour. Tickets for the intimate 1200-capacity venue were highly sought after, mirroring the demand for his previous performances at New York’s Bowery Ballroom in February 2025.