Designing the packaging for “The Boys of Dungeon Lane”

Introduction

Paul McCartney’s new album in 2026, “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane“, was eagerly waited by fans, since the release of “McCartney III” six years earlier, in 2020. During a screening of the documentary “Man On The Run“, in February 2026, Paul’s manager Scott Rodger explains that the new album was still not out because Paul was taking the time with the artwork.

I attended a screening of MAN ON THE RUN last night at Loyola University in New Orleans. Scott Rodger, Paul’s long-time manager and part-time New Orleans resident, was in attendance and did a brief Q&A after the film. […] Here’s what Scott said, verbatim, about future Paul news: “There will be new Paul music in 2026.” “The record’s done.” “The only reason it’s not out already, is Paul took his time with the artwork.”

Forum resident JMichael – From Steve Hoffman Music Forums – February 10, 2026

In the early hours of March 25, 2026, Paul’s brother Mike McCartney revealed the album title, “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane“, in a post on X, along with a logo styled to resemble a Liverpool street sign. He noted that the artwork had been designed by his son, Josh McCartney, Paul’s nephew.

Josh saw this teaser for r kids new album ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’ in Liverpool yestas. It was familiar to him as he had designed the Dungeon Lane(Speke) artwork for his Uncle

Mike McCartney – From X, March 25, 2026

The album covers

The album cover for “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane” adopts a deliberately understated, almost anti-spectacular concept. It features a cream background with a street-sign-style badge reading “The Boys of Dungeon Lane L24,” rendered in black with a red accent, echoing the design of modern street signage in Liverpool.

“The Boys of” is set in the same typeface and color used for “City of Liverpool” on official signs, while “Dungeon Lane” uses the standard typography found on street name plates. “L24” refers to the Liverpool postcode area that includes Dungeon Lane.

In the bottom-right corner of the cover, Paul McCartney’s signature appears in black.

Numerous special and exclusive editions of the album were released, some featuring alternative artwork. On certain versions, the accent colour of the sign was changed to green or blue.

The gatefold LP edition features the logo in a blind-embossed form, recalling the cover design of the Beatles’ 1968 album “The Beatles”.

A “White Label LP” edition, pressed by Third Man Records, features the handwritten lyrics of the track “Days We Left Behind” on a white background. The text, written by Paul, is printed in black, with the exception of the phrase “the boys of Dungeon Lane,” which appears in red.

Amoeba Music released an exclusive yellow vinyl edition of “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane“, featuring an alternate cover design inspired by the store’s own logo.

The collage

The album was bundled with a poster featuring an expansive collage composed of dozens of tinted images in reds, oranges, blues, and yellows. The composition incorporated childhood photographs, performance shots, group scenes, youthful portraits, and fragments of bird iconography, alongside a small “Dungeon Lane” street sign embedded within the layout. The poster stands in deliberate contrast to the spare simplicity of the album’s front cover.

In most LP editions, the collage was used for the inner sleeve of the LP. The gatefold LP edition and the picture disc edition of “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane” placed the collage at the centre of the visual presentation. A separate Green LP edition featured an alternate version of the collage in which green replaced red as the dominant colour. The limited Blue & White Liquid Splatter LP edition included another variation of the collage.

The collage was designed by silkscreen artist Kate Gibb, who shared some videos and photos about the design process on her Instagram account.

It’s been hard keeping this to myself… the best’est of commissions with Lane&Associates for the legend that is Paul McCartney…

Kate Gibb – From Instagram, May 5, 2026

Creating the collage for @paulmccartney .. silkscreen on paper .. from his photographic memory bank .. curated by @lane_and_associates .. I made four unique versions .. details changing with fresh applications of colour .. new situations leading the way … process process process!

Kate Gibb – From Instagram, May 11, 2026

The Tumblr account bodl-gatefold succeeded in identifying most of the photographs used in the collage.

The bird iconography

Various birds appear throughout the collage, all sourced from “The Observer’s Book Of Birds,” a publication Paul McCartney had mentioned owning on several occasions.

The Observer’s Books were a series of small, pocket-sized books, published in the United Kingdom from 1937 to 2003. Intended for children, they covered topics such as hobbies, art, history and wildlife.

Birdwatching started in Liverpool, my mum had the midwife’s house on the edge of Liverpool, where we lived. It was where Liverpool just stopped and then became deep countryside, so that was when I had the opportunity to do quite a bit of birdwatching. And now because I live part time on a farm, I’m able to see a lot of birds and I don’t need the Observer’s Book of Birds quite so much as I did back then.

Paul McCartney – From Paul McCartney | News | Sticking Out of My Back Pocket: Birdwatching, March 20, 2026

The photographies