Egypt Station is the 17th solo album by Paul McCartney, and the follow-up to 2013’s New.

It was released by Capitol Records on 7 September 2018, on compact disc, standard 140g double vinyl, limited edition 180g deluxe double vinyl with deluxe packaging, and as a digital download.

There were also several limited edition coloured vinyl variants: a green vinyl double LP promoted to Spotify listeners, double red vinyl sold by Barnes and Noble in the US, and an orange and blue vinyl edition in a “concertina trifold 6 panel gatefold package”, sold on the McCartney store and affiliated sites.

A limited edition CD set with concertina-style packaging, sold in HMV in the UK and Target in the US, contained two extra tracks: ‘Get Started’ and ‘Nothing For Free’.

Egypt Station charted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming McCartney’s first chart-topper since 1982’s Tug of War.

Pre-release publicity

The album title was announced on 18 June 2018, McCartney’s 76th birthday. It followed 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 songs revealed from the album were ‘I Don’t Know’ and ‘Come On To Me’, released as a double a-side single on 20 June 2018.

The first tastes of Paul’s brand new studio album due out later this year on Capitol Records, the two A-sides are polar opposites: ‘I Don’t Know’ being a plaintive, soul-soothing ballad as only Paul can deliver, and ‘Come On To Me’ a raucous stomper that fans that first spark of chemistry into a rocking blaze.

Worldwide speculation about a new Paul McCartney album instantly reached fever pitch as his Instagram account whited out last week—only to ratchet higher as Paul was spotted taking selfies at landmarks in Liverpool the same day. The evening’s climactic event was a surprise gig at the tiny Liverpool Philharmonic Pub, during which ‘Come On To Me’ made its live debut alongside a set of classics spanning Paul’s career.

Paul’s new album is slated for fall 2018 release on Capitol Records. Further details will be announced shortly.

Press release for ‘I Don’t Know’ / ‘Come On To Me’

‘Come On To Me’ was the only new song performed at McCartney’s surprise show at Liverpool’s Philharmonic pub on 9 June. He also sang the song with James Corden during an episode of Carpool Karaoke filmed on the same day.

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