How Ringo Starr almost missed out on The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’
For a band who were only active for around a decade, The Beatles seemed to produce an unparalleled quantity of utterly iconic songs. From their early period of writing teeny-bopper love singles to the more mature, considered, and profound work of their later discography, the songwriting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney seemingly knew no bounds. However, one unavoidable highlight within the band’s career came with the 1968 single ‘Hey Jude’, a song which has since taken on a life of its own.
Although the song was eventually released as a non-album single, ‘Hey Jude’ was initially intended to feature on The Beatles’ White Album, so early recordings of the song were created during those sessions. These sessions came at a pivotal, if not harmonious, time in the band’s history, coming shortly after their life-altering trip to India and coinciding with rising tensions between John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and the rest of the band. Nevertheless, The Beatles produced some of their strongest material in the midst of this conflict, and ‘Hey Jude’ is a prominent example.
Written by McCartney, the song was rehearsed extensively at EMI Studios, now Abbey Road Studios, during the White Album sessions, with the band intended to cut the master at Trident Studios across town. Given the rising tensions and interpersonal conflicts within the band at this time, however, it is perhaps unsurprising that the recording process was fraught with difficulties that could have spelt disaster for the band.
In fact, one such miscommunication during the master recording of ‘Hey Jude’ nearly disrupted the entire song. Interestingly, though, this incident did not arise from an argument or musical disagreement within the band but simply from Ringo Starr needing to use the toilet. As Paul McCartney once recalled, “We recorded it in Trident Studios in Soho, London, and Ringo had just gone to the toilet, which was just through the studio.”
However, due to the layout of the studio, McCartney was unable to see Starr’s now vacant drum booth. So, the tape started, and McCartney started playing the iconic intro to ‘Hey Jude’. “I didn’t know, I hadn’t seen him go out,” he said, “I thought he was back in his drum booth, which was hidden from us. So I started [the song], and I’m working through this long intro without the drums.”
Thankfully for Starr, ‘Hey Jude’ features that long introduction with McCartney singing and playing the piano. It is not until nearly one minute into the song that Starr’s drums erupt, buying the drummer a little more time to head back from the bogs. “As I’m halfway through, I see this figure creeping along behind me, it’s Ringo,” Macca remembered, “He’s just finished, and he’s trying to get to the drum kit.”
Given that the toilets were on the other side of the studio to the drums, Starr was tasked with a Crystal Maze-esque task of clambering over a deluge of equipment without disrupting the rest of the band, who had started the take. “He realises we’re on a take; he doesn’t want to break it because it looks like it’s going good; this was the one; this was the take.” Thankfully for all those involved, Starr made it back to his kit in the end. “He sits down just in time,” the songwriter recalled, adding, “Dear me, that man is blessed.”
So, had Starr not come out of the toilets when he did, the introduction to ‘Hey Jude’ might have been a lot longer. Indeed, the entire song might have ended up having no drums at all. The sheer brilliance of the final mix, along with the iconic status ‘Hey Jude’ is now afforded, is a testament to the quality of The Beatles at that time, but also to the importance of digestive health and staying regular.
