The album is inspired by the musical of the same name, which premiered in June 2014, and whose songs were written by Sting. The play explores the themes of homecoming and self-discovery, drawing upon Sting's memories of growing up in the shipbuilding town of Wallsend, along with his reflections on the complexity of relationships, the passage of time and the importance of family and community.

The album features fifteen reworked versions of a selection of Sting's most widely recognised songs from across his career. Via his social media outlets, Sting described the new versions of the songs as being "reconstructed", "refitted" and "reframed", but "with a contemporary focus". Some songs on the album have been remixed using elements of the original tracks, while others are complete re-recordings.