At 83, Paul McCartney is proving that age is just a number. Fresh off a triumphant North American tour that left fans in awe, the legendary musician is gearing up for a busy 2025. In May, he'll release a new album titled The Boys of Dungeon Lane, a deeply personal project that revisits his childhood, his hometown, and his early days with The Beatles. And to make it even more special, he's finally doing something he's never done before: a duet with his oldest friend and former bandmate, Ringo Starr.
The news sent Beatles fans into a frenzy, but the story behind the collaboration is even more touching. Producer Andrew Watt, who helmed the album, recently hosted a listening party at his Los Angeles home for a handful of lucky fans. The surprise guest? McCartney himself, who took over the event to share the stories behind the songs—including the revelation that Starr would be joining him on a track called "Home to Us."
A Duet Decades in the Making
While McCartney and Starr have collaborated on various projects over the years, they've never recorded a proper duet until now. According to McCartney, the process started when he asked Starr to lay down some drum tracks at Watt's studio, with no specific song in mind. After listening to the recordings, McCartney felt inspired to write a track around them—and realized he wanted Starr to do more than just play drums.
"I sent the track back to him, asking him to sing on it as well," McCartney explained. But when Starr returned the song with only a small vocal part, McCartney worried his friend didn't like it. "I was thinking, ‘Oh, he doesn’t like it...’" The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up: Starr thought McCartney only wanted him on the chorus. Once McCartney assured him he wanted him to sing the entire song, they settled on a back-and-forth style. "We decided to give one line to me, the next line to Ringo, one line to me. It was really nice, because we'd never done that."
An Ode to Liverpool
The album's title, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, sets the nostalgic tone. Dungeon Lane is a road in Liverpool that leads to the River Mersey, and the first single, "Days We Left Behind," already hints at the theme. In it, McCartney reflects on the big dreams of "the boys of Dungeon Lane" walking along the shore, and he looks back on his early songwriting sessions with John Lennon at his childhood home on 20 Forthlin Rd. The lyrics reference "a secret code to never be spoken" and a promise that "will never be broken." It's a heartfelt nod to a bond that shaped music history.
The duet with Starr, "Home to Us," is equally emotional. McCartney describes it as a song about growing up in post-war Liverpool—a town that, at the time, offered few opportunities and was often looked down upon. "Even though where we lived was pretty rough, it was home to us," he said. "You had mates, and you made the best of it, and you had a great time."
McCartney has never forgotten his roots. He frequently returns to Liverpool and even founded the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts on the site of his old school, where he personally hands out diplomas every year. This deep connection to his hometown is woven throughout the album, making it a love letter to the place that shaped him—and to the friend who was there from the start.
For fans who've followed The Beatles since the beginning, this duet is a long-awaited gift. Over 50 years after the band's breakup, McCartney and Starr are still making music together, and this collaboration feels like a full-circle moment. As McCartney continues to prove that his creative spark is as bright as ever, The Boys of Dungeon Lane promises to be a poignant look back at where it all began.
