Recording "The Boys Of Dungeon Lane"

Chronology

Between April 2021 and the release of the album, Paul McCartney, producer Andrew Watt, and a few insiders who had the opportunity to hear early recordings — including publicist Stuart Bell and former Wings drummer Denny Seiwell — shared occasional hints about the album’s progress.

April 2021

During the promotion of “McCartney III Imagined“, Paul McCartney took part in conversations with EOB, St. Vincent and Phoebe Bridgers, in which he spoke about his early days working with producer Andrew Watt.

Have you got another album on the go, have you got more music?

I’ve just met this guy, Andrew Watt, who’s a new young producer… He’s probably not that new, but I mean, to me, he is. And I just met him the other day, he’s got a great little studio which is in Charlie Chaplin’s old house. So it’s real Hollywood history, you know. And he’s got a fabulous little studio in the bottom, so I was going around maybe to just have a cup of tea with him, and we got start, we got talking and I was talking about something, and I said “you know I don’t have to have a left-handed guitar here, do you?” “yes we do”

So suddenly I’ve got a guitar, we just took it from there and I said “should we put this down” and we’ve ended up doing a track but, again, you know, it’s not me trying to make a new album, it’s just doing a song with this guy who’s fun to work with. It may well be on a next album, but I’m not in a hurry, you know, we’ve got tonight’s album coming out you’re on.

Paul McCartney – In conversation with EOB, April 15, 2021

I am in Los Angeles. […] I just started doing a little bit of work. I met the producer, Andrew Watt. Have you heard of Andrew? […] I just met him. My manager said “you might like to go say hello and meet him”. So I went around for a cup of tea, and of course we ended up making a track.. So that’s, that’s great fun… […]

[This afternoon] I’m going over to a studio with Andrew Watt. And I said, we were working on a track. It’s exciting. I just met him and I wasn’t sure what we do. We just have a cup of tea or whatever. But we got talking and we got playing little guitar stuff. And I actually started off saying “sometimes it’s great to experiment with a chord you don’t even know”. I say, “a crazy chord like …” and I did this chord and I thought “Oh, that’s really crazy”. But I messed around with it a little bit. And it resolved itself into a less crazy one, and it’s just the opening sequence in a little thing. So then, we started and I said “well, should we put this down?” And that was fatal. And then, Yeah, how about some drums… It was very nice. And so I’m hoping to kind of finish that up today, or near enough finish it. So that’s quite nice. It’s the theme of the tune was… Sometimes an image will come into your mind. And I remember when I was a kid, where we used to live, there was blocks of flats where people lived, and I remember walking by this one (where) I knew this girl lived… And her light was on, so I could kind of see her silhouette in the window. So I always thought, wow… I mean, I suppose that makes me a voyeur. But there’s something kind of romantic about it. So I just started the song with that thought, like, ‘I walk by your house and I see your silhouette on the blind.’ And then try to develop it. ‘Do I ever cross your mind?’

Paul McCartney – In conversation with St. Vincent, April 15, 2021

Phoebe Bridgers: What about you? What have you got going on?

Paul McCartney: I’ve got quite a sort of full day today. I’ve just now watched an animation film that I’m involved in where I’ve written a music. It’s a film called “High In The Clouds” […] And then I’m talking to Phoebe Bridgers later. She’s really cool, man. Have you heard of her? […] And then I’m gonna talk to Josh Homme. […] And then I’ll go over to a recording studio, where I’ve been working with a young producer. You’ve probably heard of Andrew Watt.

Phoebe Bridgers: Oh yeah. Big fan.

Paul McCartney: I hadn’t met him. But my manager said “it would be nice if you wanted to meet him, you know, just hang out and grab a cup of tea or something”. So I went over to his place. And we were just chatting. And then at one point, he just looked at me kind of cutely, and said, “I’d like to do a song with you”. I thought, okay, so certainly, we’re picking up guitars and then making the song and I was on the drums. And so I’m going over there, hopefully to finish off the thing we’ve been doing. And then my nephew is in town with his daughter, and I’m going out to dinner. Me and Nancy are going out to dinner with them later. So I’ve got a full day.

Paul McCartney – In conversation with Phoebe Bridgers, April 16, 2021

2023

What are you looking forward to in 2023?

Well, I’m going on holiday – I’m definitely looking forward to that! And I’m doing some more recording. I’ve been recording with a couple of people, so I’m looking forward to doing even more. I’ve started working with this producer called Andrew Watt, and he’s very interesting – we’ve had some fun. Beyond that, I don’t have anything massive planned… at the moment! 

Paul McCartney – From paulmccartney.com, December 30, 2022

I have some new songs, which I should release sometime next year.

Paul McCartney – Interview with O Globo, August 8, 2023

When did the main sessions for the [Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamons] album begin?

Mick [Jagger] said, “It’s going to be in L.A. in November.” And I’m looking at my calendar and I go, “Oh, fuck. I’ve got Paul McCartney booked during this time.” The Stones wanted to do it for a month straight, from early November into early December. But I don’t think I need to explain to you why you do not cancel on Paul McCartney.

So I call Mick and I’m like, “Listen, I can work, but I have these four or five days booked with Paul right in the middle of this.” And he said, “Oh, yeah, I understand.” So I hung up and said to myself, “I’m going to ask the dumbest question I could ever ask.” I called Mick back and said, “What do you think about me asking if Paul would be into playing bass on a track?” And Mick was like, “Yeah, that sounds great.” So I called Paul and he said, “Yeah, I’d love to play bass with the Stones.”

Andrew Watt – From Rolling Stones Producer Andrew Watt on Making ‘Hackney Diamonds’, October 29, 2023

2024

A fanboy and musical collaborator of a who’s who of rock royalty, ranging from Elton John to Ozzy Osbourne to Iggy Pop, Watt is also collaborating with arguably the most successful musician of all time, Sir Paul McCartney. “We made some stuff together,” Watt says. “And you know, the process was magical. And it’s still being worked on.”

Andrew Watt – Interview with Los Angeles Times, July 11, 2024

Rumors say the album was already finished last January but then there was some new ideas and recordings were resumed.

Luca Perasi – Author of Beatles and Paul McCartney-related books – From Current Paul McCartney news thread (interviews, articles, miscellaneous) | Page 672 | Steve Hoffman Music Forums, August 4, 2024

I know one of the string players who have recently done sessions for Paul at Abbey Road (played on 5 tracks). She noted that Paul’s vocals sounded much improved and wondered if they were older vocal takes or whether a doctor had recently performed some rehabilitive work. […] It was sometime between May/July. I’d imagine that if they were already recording string parts then the recording process is quite some way down the line.

lavalamp3 – Forum resident at Steve Hoffman’s forums – From Paul McCartney new 2026 album “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane”* | Page 52 | Steve Hoffman Music Forums, September 21, 2024

Do you think you’ve written your best song yet?

Probably. I’m very lucky to have written some songs that I think are… good. Many artists, dancers, painters, actors, often do their best when they are young. So I think I probably already wrote my best songs, but that doesn’t make me stop trying. Doing songs for me is like a hobby, and I would still do it if I wasn’t a professional. And I have new songs and I think there’s one or two that are really good and I think they could be from the Beatles. It’s not for me to judge him, but who knows? […]

This past year I’ve been recording new songs, and I’ve got a lot I’ll probably release next year, so I’m excited about that, but since I’m on tour I still couldn’t finish mixing them and that, go ahead.

Paul McCartney – Interview with El Pais, September 22, 2024

Caught up in the party spirit [in São Paulo, November 2024], Paul even went so far as to play us some of the new material he’s been working on recently… but my lips are well and truly sealed!

Stuart Bell – Paul McCartney’s publicist – From For Whom The Bell Tells: ‘GOT BACK’ Central and South American Tour 2024, January 13, 2025

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions for 2025?

Here’s one: finish an album! I’ve been working on a lot of songs, and have had to put it to the side because of the tour. So, I’m hoping to get back into that and finish up a lot of these songs. So, how’s about that? ‘My New Year’s resolution is to finish a new album!’

Paul McCartney, From paulmccartney.com, December 22, 2024

2025

What was this story where you got to have tea with Paul McCartney and then you started writing songs with him? Describe to me that process.

His manager – a guy named Scott Roger who’s great guy – I told him I would love to get with Paul sometime and then, right after that, I won the producer for the year at the Grammys, and then I think he told Paul about that, and then Paul was like “okay I’d love to meet this guy”. So I just got a text Paul wanted to come over for tea.

To your house?

So I’m like “Paul McCartney is coming to my…” so I cannot sleep the night before. I’m like what the [ _ ] so I’m literally starting to doze off and I sit up in the middle of the night, I’m like “holy [ _ ], I have no Lefty guitars.” I have only right-handed guitars, I’m a lefty but I play right. I’m like we’re supposed to have tea, but what happens if he wants to play a chord or wants to show me something or I could have Paul McCartney playing guitar in front of me, and I won’t be able to… so we start Googling and we kind of find a company that would rent them, then they’re around. So they’re coming over for tea, I am tripping out like never before, it’s the one time I was like, “okay I need you to slap me in the face as hard as you can” to my assistant.

You’re nervous…

There’s going to be a Beatle in my kitchen, how is that something that you can fathom… So we start having you know deep conversations about stuff and we started talking about Blackbird because it’s one of my favorite songs ever and it’s very interesting to play, it’s got like a very particular right hand and I thought I kind of have it how to play it, so I was like asking him if I kind of got it right and he was kind of showing me stuff and he was like “you know the most important part of that song is that you tap your foot while you play it” and I thought that’s a metronome. So they actually have his foot mic’ed in the studios. He was telling me that story there where he’s playing the song but you hear a little pulse and that’s just his foot tapping. So getting those kinds of little bits of information from the source, that’s like the reason why I exist. It gives me life. […]

Then he texted me and he said “I really like this. Can I come back tomorrow and let’s work on it a little bit?” So, he came back and then he kept coming back for like five or six days, and we made this really awesome song that I love and he loves. And then from there, we just kinda kept working together, and it’s been one of the most amazing experiences in my life just watching him work. He plays every single instrument unbelievably.

Andrew Watt – Interview with Howard Stern, February 2025

Insiders told me that Macca, whose last album McCartney III came out in 2020, has finished 90 per cent of his new album and hopes to have it finished and mastered by the end of the year. A source said: “Paul has been working on the album all year and initially hoped it would be out by the end of this year but as with most things plans change. It’s not quite finished but the majority of the album is done and Paul is really proud of it. As for live shows he’s told his team he wants to tour the UK again, so live gigs next year are also happening.“

From The Sun, August 24, 2025

When he’d come to town working on his solo record, he called us down to hear some of the new tracks at A&M, which is now called Henson’s. It’s a nice control room, it was just Paul, my wife, the engineer, the producer Andrew Watt, and me. Andrew is this hot young guy. So Paul’s in the studio working on some sounds, he’s on the piano, some licks that he wants to put together, and he sees us come in, and he comes in, and we have big hugs and nice reunion.

We talked about the old days, you know. And he played us a couple of tracks, and one of those tracks was a sentimental track that really touched back on the full history of all of our years together and everything. He looked over at my wife Monique and she had tears in her eyes and then he looked at me and started welling up, and I was welling up, and all of a sudden the three of us are having a big group hub. It was truly amazing. The songs were beautiful. I can’t wait to hear this solo record; I think it’s going to be one of his, if not his best effort.

Denny Seiwell – Interview with podcast Hands Across The Water, September 8, 2025

Finally, you’ve dropped some clues about work you’re doing on a new album with the producer Andrew Watt. How’s that all going?

It’s finishing up! We’ve made a lot of tracks that we both like, and so it’s coming to the end of the process. We’re really excited about putting together the new album. The only trouble is, the minute we finish a bunch of songs, Andrew’s so keen that he wants to get onto a new one. We’ll do a jam or something, and we go, ‘Oh, that’s good,’ but while I might be thinking, ‘Yeah, we’ll do that sometime,’ he’s like, ‘No, that’s great! We should finish it up.’ He’s very enthusiastic. I like that. You need that in a producer.

So, yeah, it is finishing up. But, having said that, there’s a couple of new tracks that have just surfaced that we’ve got to finish up and then see if they can make the album. I think we’ve got a lot of nice tracks. I think fans are going to be interested to see what we’ve done.

Paul McCartney – From 2025 “Got Back” tour book

All my life, and even then, I wanted to do something different. For me to succeed, it had to be different. I wanted to write songs, and I did them, but over time, it becomes a body of work, even without realizing it. And right now, I have 25 songs that I’m finishing in the next few months, new songs that are interesting. I can hear something, I can hear a piece of music, and think, Oh, I love that, and I’ll incorporate that feeling into a new song. And often, a constant thread through my writing is nostalgia, the memories of things past.

Paul McCartney – Foreword to “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run”, written in March 2025

What are you most looking forward to in 2026? 

My new album! We’re just starting to think about how to put that together.

Paul McCartney – From You Gave Me The Answer – The Final Fan Questions for 2025, Dec 19, 2025

2026

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. Of course they talked about his personal recollections and feelings about working with Paul for so long now… And he said nothing about the archive series unfortunately… But 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.” “Paul will be touring later this year. He’s going back to Japan among other places.” “Chrissie Hynde sings some backing vocals on the new record. She and Linda were very close, and she’s still great friends with Paul to this day.”

The information about Chrissie Hynde on the new album actually came from an audience question, the guy said he was a huge Pretenders fan and asked why Chrissie was heard several times in the documentary. Then Scott answered about her friendship with Linda and divulged that Chrissie is on the new album.

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

Related session

Session activities

1. As You Lie There

   April 13-16, 2021 ? • Recording "As You Lie There"

Going further

• https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/paul-mccartney-new-2026-album-the-boys-of-dungeon-lane.1190038/page-113