{"id":192766485,"date":"2026-04-02T13:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/2026\/04\/02\/paul-mccartneys-ghost-of-forthlin-road\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T18:24:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T22:24:00","slug":"paul-mccartneys-ghost-of-forthlin-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/2026\/04\/02\/paul-mccartneys-ghost-of-forthlin-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul McCartney&#039;s Ghost of Forthlin Road"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>&#8220;Days We Left Behind&#8221; and the Cellphone Flap Paul Wants to Leave Behind<\/h2><p>\u201cDays We Left Behind\u201d is the new lead single for<strong> Paul McCartney\u2019s<\/strong> 18th solo studio album, <em>The Boys of Dungeon Lane<\/em> (set for release May 29, 2026). The song was born from a chance meeting five years ago between Paul and producer <strong>Andrew Watt<\/strong>. During a tea break, Paul played a chord he didn\u2019t recognize, and that \u201cmysterious chord\u201d eventually became the foundation for this project. Yes, it might seem odd that  one of the greatest songwriters in history wouldn\u2019t recognize a chord he\u2019d just played, but it\u2019s actually a classic \u201cMcCartneyism.\u201d Paul often describes his songwriting process as a bit of a \u201cseance\u201d where he discovers sounds by accident.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2n1IhyF6R0U?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The track is a \u201cmemory song\u201d in the truest sense. McCartney, now 83, uses the lyrics to walk the listener through the working-class streets of southern Liverpool. He specifically references <strong>Dungeon Lane<\/strong> and <strong>Forthlin Road<\/strong>, the neighborhood where he and <strong>John Lennon<\/strong> first began writing together. Musically, it is a stripped-back, acoustic-led ballad that highlights a raw, raspy quality in Paul\u2019s voice\u2014a deliberate choice that emphasizes the distance between the man today and the \u201cboy\u201d he is singing about. Paul easily could have used studio tricks to make his voice recording sound \u201cperfect,\u201d but leaving it raw was kind of the point.<\/p><p>While the song debuted on <strong>BBC Radio Merseyside<\/strong> (a fitting nod to his roots), Paul recently performed two intimate \u201csurprise\u201d shows at the <strong>Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles<\/strong> (March 27-28, 2026). Interestingly, he chose <em>not<\/em> to play the new single at those shows, sticking instead to a heavy mix of Beatles and Wings classics like \u201cHelp!\u201d and \u201cJet.\u201d This has created a massive \u201cpull\u201d for the studio version, as fans are eager to hear the new material he\u2019d been \u201ctinkering with\u201d during his global five-year <em>Get Back<\/em> tour, which concluded in November 2025.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/066ef84b-7462-47e1-9618-36cb344f0e61_5733x3200.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure><h3><strong>What the Critics are Saying<\/strong><\/h3><p>The song has been met with a mix of reverence for its honesty and some \u201cgear-head\u201d scrutiny of its production.<\/p><ul><li><p><strong>Ewan Gleadow (Cult Following):<\/strong> Gave it <strong>4 out of 5 stars<\/strong>. He noted that the \u201csofter flourish\u201d reminds him of <em>Chaos and Creation in the Backyard<\/em>. He praised McCartney\u2019s \u201craspy turn\u201d as likeable and honest, saying, <em>\u201cThe time between the memories and now is what lingers long after the end of the song.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>The Guardian:<\/strong> Described the track as \u201cextraordinarily honest\u201d and noted that it reveals the human story behind a global icon. They highlighted how Paul visits his Liverpool years <em>\u201cnot as myths or folklore, but as his own memories.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>BourbonAndVinyl:<\/strong> Called it the \u201cdefinition of a wistful ballad.\u201d While noting that some \u201cold fans\u201d might grumble about his aging vocals, the critic compared it to Leonard Cohen\u2019s late-stage work, arguing that we need this kind of \u201crock n\u2019 roll sunshine\u201d in 2026.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>YouTube Critic (Anthony Fantano\/Needle Drop style):<\/strong> Gave it a <strong>7 out of 10<\/strong>, calling it a \u201cbig step up\u201d from <em>McCartney III<\/em>. He mentioned that the song feels \u201cvery pretty\u201d but might hit even harder once we hear it in the context of the full album.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p>Speaking of this week\u2019s Los Angeles performance, a wacky public-relations flap ensued after McCartney enforced a strict <strong>&#8220;phone-free experience&#8221;<\/strong> where all attendees were required to secure their devices in <strong>Yondr pouches<\/strong> upon entry, preventing them from snapping photos or video. Recognizing that fans would still want mementos of the event, Paul\u2019s team attempted to share professional photos and videos on the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/PaulMcCartney\/\">r\/PaulMcCartney<\/a><\/strong> page on Reddit so fans could &#8220;have some memories to share.&#8221; But the post was blocked\u2014likely by an automated spam filter or an overzealous moderator\u2014leading to the hilarious, unreal irony of Sir Paul himself being <strong>banned from his own fan community<\/strong> (thanks, Reddit!). While Reddit later attributed the ban to a &#8220;technical bug&#8221;<strong> <\/strong>and reinstated Paul\u2019s acccount, the original post is now a missing piece of internet lore. Paul\u2019s live pictures are dead.<\/p><h2><strong>My take on \u201cNo Cell, Bell-to-Bell\u201d<\/strong><\/h2><p>Banning phones from a pop-music concert just seems \u2026 <strong>wrong.<\/strong> I can understand teachers collecting the phones of schoolchildren before class; I can understand security officers confiscating phones when people enter a top-secret military building; I can understand Broadway producers wanting to prevent cameras flashing while actors are speaking their lines. But banning phones from a rock show? <strong>Seriously?<\/strong> Paul has been one of the most-photographed persons on the planet for 60 years. What\u2019s another few thousand more snapshots going to hurt? And, honestly, how effective are these bands? YouTube is chock full of concert footage taken by fans who\u2019ve flouted such bans and sneaked their cellphones into the arenas, including McCartney shows. <\/p><p>And who do you think is paying for the cost of those pouches that nuke the phone signals? It\u2019s the concert-goers who\u2019ve already paid enough of their hard-earned money. The pouches add about $5 to the cost of tickets, plus the venue has to hire more security and \u201cpouching assistants\u201d to ensure the lines don\u2019t back up for hours. But wait, there\u2019s more: Another premium is tacked on to cover the risk of lost or damaged phones while in the pouches. <strong>This is a case of a tedious, expensive solution in search of a problem.<\/strong><\/p><p>Is there <em>any<\/em> valid reason for banning phones from a show? I suppose it helps artists assert control over their &#8220;intellectual property&#8221; and ensure that the only way to hear the new music is to be there in person or wait for the official release. But for fans who\u2019ve paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars for tickets to see a lifelong idol, and want to preserve that memory? <strong>Sorry, I don\u2019t get it.<\/strong><\/p><h2><strong>See this Week\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2x2Mt-k56\">Hot Beatles Memorabilia Auctions!<\/a><\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/b4b448ba-a3f8-4c0b-afd6-5b704f7e5bc8_5734x3200.jpeg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure><h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3LlPVOI\">Visit my Beatles Store:<\/a><\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/02bced6e-aec7-483e-b9f1-457a36950524_1200x300.jpeg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Days We Left Behind&#8221; and the Cellphone Flap Paul Wants to Leave Behind<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[33,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2x2Mt-d2PmR","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192766485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192766485"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192766485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194564190,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192766485\/revisions\/194564190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192766485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192766485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weberbooks.com\/kindle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192766485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}