Paul McCartney reflected on his childhood, young love, and memories of his late Beatles bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison during a secret event at Abbey Road studios on Tuesday.
The Beatles legend, 83, stunned a lucky group of fans at Studio One – where the Fab Four recorded songs such as “Yesterday”, “Penny Lane” and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” – when he turned up to a playback of his forthcoming album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
There was a hushed reverence amid the 50-strong crowd as they waited patiently, not certain but perhaps having guessed that McCartney himself might make a surprise appearance at the event. As a familiar voice could be heard from a booth upstairs, heads whipped round as though watching match point at Wimbledon: “That was Paul!”
Sure enough, McCartney made his way to the floor, taking a seat next to an acoustic guitar. For the next 90 minutes, he regaled the audience with stories behind the 14 songs on his 21st solo album, due for release on 29 May.
McCartney told fans that he first started working on the album five years ago, after being introduced to Andrew Watt, a US producer known for his work with Lady Gaga, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones.
The Boys of Dungeon Lane was a transatlantic endeavour, created between Watt’s studio in Los Angeles and McCartney’s studio at his home in Sussex.
Many of the tracks are inspired by McCartney’s past, growing up in Liverpool, and meeting his future bandmates – Lennon, Harrison and Ringo Starr.
One song, he revealed, was inspired by his childhood crush on a girl who lived nearby. Unfortunately, McCartney shared, when she did eventually knock at his door, he had been “on the loo” and they missed their moment.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
In another incident, McCartney recalled being mugged for his watch while walking down a dodgy lane in Liverpool. “I reported it and they caught him,” he said, “but after that I thought, I’ll learn karate so I can beat the s*** out of him next time. I never did, of course.”
Occasionally he picked up the guitar to demonstrate how he came up with a chord, at one point muttering “oh s***” when he got it wrong – a moment of loose-lipped candour that prompted laughter from his fans.
Elsewhere, he told his audience – among them his “lovely boy”, 48-year-old son James – that the album’s artwork was inspired by his love of birdwatching on the Mersey in his youth, and challenged listeners to identify all of the birds that featured.
Another track, the trippy and psychedelic-themed “Mountain Top”, was partly written in response to his headline slot at Glastonbury Festival in 2022, which put him in a “hippie mood”. The rollicking “Down South”, meanwhile, was influenced by his adventures hitchhiking with Harrison.
“I still get a little bit emotional talking about John and George,” he admitted, looking around the studio. “This is where we worked!”
The fans themselves became emotional when McCartney spoke about collaborating with Starr on the album, after the drummer spent some time with Watt at his LA studio. “A Paul and Ringo duet – something we’d never done!” said the musician, who noted that “quite a few of the songs on this album go back in time… that’s what you draw from”.
In an afternoon soaked through with nostalgia, McCartney did take a moment to acknowledge the present-day. He addressed “all this turbulence in the world” as he spoke about a song inspired by his parents, who raised him during World War Two. “Imagine we’re in here,” he told the audience, “and any minute now you’re expecting bombs to fall… I wondered what that [feeling] would do to you.”
He then paid tribute to human resilience, referencing conflict in Ukraine and Gaza: “They’re going through these terrible things, but they keep on.”
Paul McCartney’s album The Boys of Dungeon Lane is out on 29 May.