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TL;DR:

  • Ringo Starr’s “Back Off Boogaloo” was inspired by a 1970s rock star who was close friends with Ringo.
  • Contrary to rumor, the 1970s rock star in question did not co-write the song.
  • The tune was Ringo’s highest-charting single in the United Kingdom.

Ringo Starr‘s “Back Off Boogaloo” became one of the most famous songs by a former Beatle. Ringo revealed a rock star from the 1970s inspired the song. In addition, the “Photograph” singer said he had to use a child’s toy to complete the hit.

Ringo Starr’s ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ was inspired by T. Rex’s Marc Bolan

According to the 2015 book Ringo: With a Little Help, Ringo said Marc Bolan, the lead singer of the glam rock band T. Rex, inspired “Back Off Boogaloo. “Marc was a dear friend who used to come into the office when I was running Apple Movies, a big office in town, and the hang-out for myself, Harry Nilsson, and Keith Moon,” he said.

“We’d go on to various venues, but we’d always start down in the office, and Marc was so much fun; he’d tell us how many he was gonna sell and what chart position he’d have,” he said. “We were only 30, then, but we were looking at him like he was some crazy kid.”

Contrary to rumor, Ringo Starr did not co-write the song with T. Rex’s Marc Bolan

Ringo elaborated on his relationship with Bolan. “We became friends; we had a holiday together,” he recalled. “I took one of his album covers for him; that was just on the roof of Apple [Records], actually.” The record in question was T. Rex’s The Slider, one of the band’s most popular albums.

Ringo explained how Bolan inspired “Back Off Boogaloo.” “[Bolan] came over to dinner one night, and he had this infectious laugh, and ‘Back off,’ [said] in a friendly way, was one of his lines,” Ringo remembered. “‘Back off, Boogaloo!’ I was in bed later, and in that twilight zone, the whole song just came.” According to rumor, Bolan co-wrote the track. There is no evidence to suggest this, as the song is credited to Ringo and George Harrison.

The “You’re Sixteen” singer decided to get out of bed to start writing the song. He discovered that the batteries in his tape recorder had died. Subsequently, put batteries from one of his children’s toys in his tape recorder.

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How ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Back Off Boogaloo” was one of Ringo’s biggest hits in the United States. The tune peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Back Off Boogaloo” was even more popular in the United Kingdom. There, it peaked at No. 2 on the chart, lasting on the chart for 10 weeks. “Back Off Boogaloo” became Ringo’s highest-charting single in the U.K.

“Back Off Boogaloo” became a big hit and it wouldn’t be the same without Bolan.

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