It hasn’t even been released yet but quite a bit of work is being done by fans to identify the source of every image seen on the striking collage that fills the inside of the newly announced gatefold edition of Paul McCartney’s forthcoming Boys of Dungeon Lane LP:
There’s also a cassette which includes the same collage as a fold-out print and, in what’s turning into a big crowdsourced research project, fans from around the world are turning amateur detective and contributing to a special “Collage” Tumblr page set up by @bodl-gatefold.
The Tumblr page says: “We’re trying to source all the photos that went into this collage. If you think you’ve spotted one, send us an ask with a screenshot of the section where it appears, and a copy of the photo. The more info you can provide with your photo the better, but if you don’t know anything about where it was taken or even who’s in it, that’s find, send it!”
Here’s the collage (click the image to enlarge):
An email announcing the new gatefold edition says this “…screen‑printed collage is made from over 100 archive images, including previously unseen photography from Paul’s personal archive.”
So, here’s the artwork showing with red marks all the images @bodl-gatefold has identified so far:
As you scroll through the Tumblr page you’ll see examples of each of them – and there are a lot! The collage image is shown, and then the original source photo – usually (where known) with a time and place the original image was taken. The two below for example come from a hitchhiking trip Paul and George’s made in August, 1959:
There are many, many more great discoveries.
One thing that’s also immediately obvious, apart from the all the people, is that there’s a lot of bird images used throughout the collage. This helps explain the many bird references and little bird emojis in the current marketing teaser campaign. For example:
From what we can tell the album is deeply nostalgic and young Paul was once a very keen birdwatcher. Turns out that all the bird images on the collage come from The Observer’s Book Of Birds (which Paul has several times mentioned owning), plus two other books Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands and The Birds of the British Isles and Their Eggs. So the Tumblr investigators have obviously been pouring over these. Here’s a detail example of the depth of the detective work being done just to identify the birds in the collage (again, click the image to see a larger version):
It seems that the making of this complex artwork for the gatefold was one of the reasons the release has been slightly delayed.
Back in March Paul’s brother, Mike McCartney posted a message on X leaking the title of the album and it’s front cover logo – a British street sign. He said that the album artwork was designed by his son Josh McCartney, Paul’s nephew.
Then a member of the Steve Hoffman Music Forum said he’d attended a screening of the Wings film, Man On The Run where Paul’s manager, Scott Rodger was a special guest. Rodger did a brief Q&A following the film and said, “There will be new Paul music in 2026. The record is done. The only reason it’s not out already is Paul took his time with the artwork.”
This collage is reminiscent of the collage poster that came with the White Album and has the potential to stand as a landmark piece of imagery, a permanent tribute to Paul’s amazing past.
McCartney’s Instagram and other socials have been carrying a short “behind the scenes” video of the collage being created. The artist who is making the collage is Kate Gibb:
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