McCartney Brings Ringo Starr in for a Brand-New Duet on His Upcoming Album

Published on April 21, 2026Updated on August 11, 2026

Key takeaways

Paul McCartney has confirmed that Ringo Starr will appear on his upcoming album The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
The two former Beatles share a genuine line-by-line duet on the track « Home to Us ».
It is the first formal duet collaboration between two former Beatles since the band broke up.
The album, produced by Andrew Watt, will be released on May 29, 2026.

At Woodbrass, we’ve seen plenty of announcements labeled “historic collaboration” turn out to be little more than an incidental guest appearance. But when Paul McCartney brings the last living Beatle onto a track, line by line, everything stops.

Because since the breakup in 1970, this kind of straight-up duet between two former Fab Four simply had never happened. Here’s why this track « Home to Us » is a small event for anyone who has ever plucked a string while thinking of Liverpool.

An album that goes back to the roots: Liverpool

The Boys of Dungeon Lane is the title of Paul McCartney’s next solo album, due out on May 29, 2026. The record marks his return following McCartney III, released in 2020. This time, Macca dives straight back into his youth in Liverpool and his first adventures with George Harrison and John Lennon, before the Beatles even truly existed.

The announcement was made during a private listening session held on April 16, 2026, at producer Andrew Watt’s Diamond Dust Studios in Los Angeles. Thirty handpicked fans got an advance listen to the soundtrack, with Paul as their guide. It was during one track that he dropped the news: yes, Ringo is on the record. And not just to lay down a little groove in passing.

Good to know

Andrew Watt, the album’s producer, is no stranger to major names: he has already worked with Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Miley Cyrus, and the Rolling Stones on Hackney Diamonds. He has become THE go-to rock album maker of recent years, which explains why McCartney knocked on his door for this more intimate record.

« Home to Us »: the track that has Beatlemaniacs buzzing

On « Home to Us », Ringo Starr does more than just make an appearance. He plays drums and shares the vocals with Paul line by line. It all unfolds in an ultra-nostalgic atmosphere, with lyrics about growing up in a working-class neighborhood in Liverpool. To round out the picture, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Sharleen Spiteri of Texas also appear on backing vocals.

McCartney told the story behind the track with his usual humor. He wanted to work with Andrew Watt, ran into Ringo, and brought him into the studio. A small misunderstanding left Ringo “a little annoyed,” according to Macca, before McCartney turned the situation into a song about their shared childhood. He even joked that officially, Ringo had never done a duet with a Beatle. Until now.

Why this duet is (truly) historic

You often hear that the former Beatles “collaborated often” after the breakup. That’s only half true. Here’s what needs to be distinguished:

Vocal harmonies on each other’s solo albums, yes.
Guest instrumental parts happened from time to time.
A true sung duet, with alternating voices like on « Home to Us »? Never since 1970.
The digital reconstruction of « Now and Then » in 2023 brought all four members together, but it was not an old-school studio collaboration.

In other words, for the first time since the breakup, two former Fab Four members are answering each other on a track, live and in the flesh. Variety even calls it the first true formal duet between two former Beatles on a solo record. That carries weight.

Pro Tips

Want to capture the spirit of Ringo’s drumming? His signature is all about feel, not pure technique. Work on your patterns by letting the snare sit slightly behind the beat (the famous “behind the beat”), play with fairly heavy sticks, and favor a dry, lightly tuned snare. The less you do, the more you swing like Ringo.

A busy year for the two former Beatles

This duet did not come out of nowhere. Since late 2023, the two legends have been crossing paths regularly. There was the famous « Now and Then », the last official Beatles track, reconstructed with the help of AI from a John Lennon demo. Then came their joint appearance on Dolly Parton’s cover of « Let It Be ». And in December 2024, Ringo joined Paul onstage in London to perform Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) and Helter Skelter.

For his part, Ringo Starr is not slowing down either. His album Long Long Road is expected on April 24, 2026. Needless to say, for Liverpool fans, spring is shaping up to be intense in the “Beatles & related” bin.

An event, not just another guest appearance

At a time when collaborations keep piling up on streaming platforms, there is something moving about seeing two men aged 83 and 85 head back into the studio to sing about their shared childhood. Not for buzz, not for TikTok: simply because they still want to. See you on May 29, 2026 for The Boys of Dungeon Lane.