Ringo Starr Said ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ Was a ‘Fabulous’ Accident

Ringo Starr‘s “Back Off Boogaloo” is so good that one listen should be enough to give any of the former Beatle’s detractors pause. During an interview, Ringo revealed that the song was a happy accident that came about when he was working with George Harrison. The “It Don’t Come Easy” singer explained how “Back Off Boogaloo” fits into his discography as a songwriter.

Ringo Starr’s ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ was the result of Ringo botching a drum pattern

During a 2015 interview with Goldmine, Ringo discussed the origin of “Back Off Boogaloo.” “‘Back Off Boogaloo’ is an incredible example of how accidents are sometimes fabulous when coming up with a song,” he said.

“You see, George wanted me to play that pattern on the bass drum but the problem is I’m not that efficient as a drummer,” he added. “I can’t go [imitates a beat] and play regular. So I started doing it on the snare and it worked a treat. You know, it was just out of the blue.” George and Ringo were credited as co-writers on “Back Off Boogaloo.”

Ringo Starr used batteries from a toy to get the song on a tape

In a 2021 interview with USA Today, Ringo explained where the song’s lyrics came from. He was having dinner with Marc Bolan of the glam rock band T. Rex. Bolan used the phrase “Hey, back off! Ah, boogaloo!”

That night, the chorus of the song came to Ringo. He scrambled to get the chorus on a tape but he couldn’t find a working one. Ultimately, the former Beatle used batteries from one of his kid’s toys to get a tape recorder working. Ringo said “Back Off Boogaloo” was similar to his other songs in that it came to him out of thin air.

‘Back Off Boogaloo’ was part of the former Beatle’s journey to becoming a songwriter

During his Goldmine interview, Ringo said that “Back Off Boogaloo” was a stepping stone to becoming a songwriter. After all, very few of The Beatles’ tunes featured writing credits from him. “Finding my way as a songwriter has been a long process, really,” Ringo said. “But I’d say in the last 20 years I’ve become really comfortable with writing.” Famously, many of Ringo’s biggest solo hits, including “Snookeroo,” “No No Song,” and “You’re Sixteen,” were the work of other songwriters. In fact, “You’re Sixteen” was a remake of a song that had already become a hit for early rock ‘n’ roll star Johnny Burnette.

“You know, I wrote ‘It Don’t Come Easy’ and then I wrote ‘Photograph’ and ‘Back Off Boogaloo,’ but that was over a five-year period,” he recalled. “There wasn’t a lot in between. Even on the Ringo album I was doing other people’s songs and then some I did with Vini [Poncia].” Ringo revealed he prefers to write tunes with a partner, even though he has penned a few songs on his own.

“Back Off Boogaloo” is a great glam rock song — even if it’s the result of several happy accidents.