Paul McCartney reveals new album will feature a Ringo Starr duet

20 April 2026, 11:59

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr - The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Picture: Alamy/EMI

By Mayer Nissim

Loading audio...

After the bad-tempered break-up of The Beatles, the one person who seemed to be on okay terms with all his former bandmates was Ringo Starr.

Ringo drummed on solo records by Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, and they often returned the favour by featuring on his albums, too.

Following the murder of John Lennon in 1980 and sad passing of George Harrison in 2001, Ringo and Paul have continued to collaborate on stage and in the studio – even recording new sounds for the "final" Beatles single 'Now and Then', which was released in 2023.

And now McCartney has confirmed that Ringo has recorded a proper duet – apparently his first with a Beatle – on his upcoming nostalgic album The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

A bundle of quotes have emerged about the song, titled 'Home to Us', after the album was played to various journalists last week during a listening session with producer Andrew Watt.

Paul McCartney – The Boys of Dungeon Lane (Official Album Trailer)

"I saw Ringo and said I worked with this guy Andrew," Billboard quotes McCartney as saying.

"Ringo came over to Andrew’s studio and played a little bit of drums."

McCartney then sent the demo to Ringo, who initially just sung the chorus before a follow-up chat, after which he played some more drums on the song and it emerged as a real duet.

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney playing live together in London. Picture: Alamy

"I was thinking, 'Oh, he doesn’t like it," Variety quotes Paul. "He thought I maybe just wanted him to sing on the chorus.

"I said, 'Did you not like it.. it'd be great if you sing the whole thing.' We decided to give one line to me, the next line to Ringo, one line to me. It was really nice, because we’ve never done that."

The Boys of Dungeon Lane is released on May 29, and was trailed by the single 'Days We Left Behind'.