Paul McCartney announces new album Egypt Station

Paul McCartney has announced Egypt Station, his 17th solo studio album.

It will be released by Capitol Records on 7 September 2018, on compact disc, standard 140g vinyl, limited edition 180g deluxe coloured vinyl, and a super deluxe box set. See the options on McCartney’s official site.

Paul McCartney – Egypt Station cover artwork

The announcement follows a series of cryptic messages on McCartney’s social media accounts, beginning on 10 June 2018 with a doodle which appeared to show a pyramid or train track:

There were also six monochrome shots, of musical equipment or McCartney alone in a recording studio, leading to speculation that the new album title might be McCartney III.

On 17 June a train ticket image was posted, establishing the theme for the album’s artwork:

The first key clue to the title was an image of a torn ticket, which appeared to show the letters “…PT” and “…ON” along with some faint heirglyphics:

On the morning of 18 June, McCartney’s birthday, a new image was published which featured pyramids and palm trees, the clearest indication that the new release would have an Egypt theme.

The full title was revealed later in the day:

The first single from the album was the double a-side I Don’t Know/‘Come On To Me’, which was released on the same day of the album’s announcement.

Egypt Station was originally a piece of art by Paul McCartney. Two hundred lithographs went on sale in 1988.

200 Impressions
Paper size: 25 ½” x 33 ½”
Image size: 15 ½” x 19 ½”

Egypt Station artwork by Paul McCartney, 1988

Here’s McCartney’s description of the artwork, from the McCartney Art website:

My original inspiration was similar to a picture we were talking about the other day, with Egyptian symbols and shapes I got from looking at a reference book on Egypt. I was interested in the way they drew sunflowers, so two appear on the left and on the right. It was a nice shape, so I took that and then I also love the way they symbolize trees. I like the way they reduce a tree to just some very simple symbols.
Paul McCartney
Last updated: 9 June 2020
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