Additional Coverage:
- 1968 Beatles Song, Recorded 58 Years Ago Today, Was Cut Without the Drummer Who Felt ‘Unloved and Out of It’ (parade.com)
On the evening of August 28, 1968, The Beatles booked Trident Studios for an intense overnight session that stretched from 5 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day. Notably, only three of the four band members were present.
Ringo Starr had walked out earlier that week, on August 22, during rehearsals for “Back in the U.S.S.R.” Feeling he wasn’t playing well and emotionally isolated, Starr confided in John Lennon that he was leaving.
Lennon reportedly quipped that it might actually be the other three who were feeling that way. Starr then approached Paul McCartney with the same news but received a similar response.
Choosing not to confront George Harrison, Starr took his children and flew to Sardinia. The incident was kept under wraps, with those involved sworn to secrecy.
In Starr’s absence, Paul McCartney took over the drums for the track “Dear Prudence,” with Lennon on fingerpicked guitar and Harrison on lead guitar. Over three days, McCartney also added bass, piano, flugelhorn, and handclaps.
Thanks to Trident Studios’ eight-track recording capabilities-an upgrade from the band’s usual EMI space-the group layered each instrument carefully, often wiping unwanted takes. The session was notably less grueling than the marathon 42-hour recording of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” from the same album.
The song “Dear Prudence” was inspired by Prudence Farrow, the younger sister of actress Mia Farrow. During The Beatles’ visit to a meditation retreat in Rishikesh, India, Prudence became reclusive, refusing to leave her room.
Lennon and Harrison were tasked with encouraging her to join the group, a challenge given her extreme withdrawal, which lasted five days without eating or sleeping, as she revealed in a 2019 interview. She only heard the song after the album’s release.
Ringo Starr returned to the band on September 3, prompted by a telegram praising him as the best rock and roll drummer in the world and inviting him back. Upon his return, he found his drum kit decorated with flowers-a warm welcome from his bandmates. Now 85 years old, Starr continues to perform, recently appearing onstage with his All Starr Band.
This story was originally published in Parade’s Entertainment section on August 28, 2026.