 's mind , after which the beat and melody for the song came to him overnight . When discussing the composition on VH1 Storytellers in May 1998 , Starr explained : " [ Bolan ] was an energised guy . He used to speak : ' Back off boogaloo ... ooh you , boogaloo . ' ' Do you want some potatoes ? ' ' Ooh you , boogaloo ! ' " Starr also recalled having to take the batteries out of his children 's toys that night , in order to power a tape recorder and make a recording of the new song .   The lyrics to the middle eight of " Back Off Boogaloo " came to Starr while watching London Weekend Television 's football show , The Big Match . The program 's host , Jimmy Hill , often referred to a footballer 's playing as " tasty " , a catchphrase that Starr incorporated into his song lyrics :   Get yourself together now   And give me something tasty   Everything you try to do   You know it sure sounds wasted .   Commentators have interpreted the song , and particularly this statement , as an attack by Starr on his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney . Starr has denied any such interpretation , instead " claiming that the song was inspired by Bolan and nothing more " , Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez writes . Starr had publicly criticised McCartney 's solo albums McCartney ( 1970 ) and Ram ( 1971 ) on release , and author Bruce Spizer paraphrases the message of the middle eight as " a plea for Paul to produce better music " . The mention of " sound [ ing ] wasted " could also be a reference to McCartney 's overindulgence with cannabis , Rodriguez suggests . A further example of Starr 's allegedly anti @-@ McCartney message exists in the song 's first verse :   Wake up , meathead   Don 't pretend that you are dead   Get yourself up off the cart .   The same commentators suggest that here Starr could be referring to the 1969 " Paul Is Dead " hoax . The latter rumour circulated during September and October of that year while McCartney hid away on his Scottish farm , disconsolate after John Lennon had told him and Starr that he wanted a " divorce " from the Beatles .   In addition to these supposed messages in " Back Off Boogaloo " , observers have viewed the song title as Starr 's rebuke to McCartney to abandon his legal stand against the Beatles and Apple Corps , which was placed in receivership in March 1971 after a High Court judge found in McCartney 's favour . Author Keith Badman writes that " Boogaloo " had " long been cited as Paul 's nickname " from his former bandmates Starr , Lennon and George Harrison . While acknowledging that in subsequent years Starr might have chosen to minimise any ill @-@ feeling towards McCartney , Rodriguez notes that the lyrics " just happened to fit perfectly into the ' us vs. Paul ' mindset " following the Beatles ' break @-@ up , to the extent that " Back Off Boogaloo " was " as damning as ' Early 1970 ' had been conciliatory " . When tailoring his 1970 composition " I 'm the Greatest " for Starr to record on the album Ringo ( 1973 ) , Lennon referenced the song title with the lines " Now I 'm only thirty @-@ two / And all I want to do is boogaloo " .   Although " T Rex devotees " , in the words of Starr biographer Alan Clayson , claimed that Bolan had ghost @-@ written " Back Off Boogaloo " , Starr later acknowledged that Harrison co @-@ wrote the song by adding some chords and finishing the melody . As on Starr 's 1971 hit single " It Don 't Come Easy " , Harrison was not credited for his songwriting contribution . Starr originally offered " Back Off Boogaloo " to fellow Liverpudlian Cilla Black to record , but she declined , hoping instead to record another new Starr – Harrison composition , " Photograph " .   = = Recording = =   Having earmarked the song as his next single , Starr recorded " Back Off Boogaloo " in September 1971 , following his appearance at the Harrison @-@ organised Concert for Bangladesh in New York . The sessions took place at Apple Studio in central London , with Harrison producing , as he had on " It Don 't Come Easy " . The recording reflects the influence of glam rock on Starr through what authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter term " its big drum sound and repetitious nature " , with a line @-@ up comprising Starr ( vocals , drums , percussion ) , Harrison ( guitars ) , Gary Wright ( piano ) and Klaus Voormann ( bass , saxophone ) .   Rodriguez describes Starr 's " martial @-@ sounding opening " as a rare " showcase for his own drumming " , while Harrison biographer Simon Leng writes of " a
Ġ' s Ġmind Ġ, Ġafter Ġwhich Ġthe Ġbeat Ġand Ġmelody Ġfor Ġthe Ġsong Ġcame Ġto Ġhim Ġovernight Ġ. ĠWhen Ġdiscussing Ġthe Ġcomposition Ġon ĠV H 1 ĠStory te llers Ġin ĠMay Ġ1998 Ġ, ĠStarr Ġexplained Ġ: Ġ" Ġ[ ĠBol an Ġ] Ġwas Ġan Ġenerg ised Ġguy Ġ. ĠHe Ġused Ġto Ġspeak Ġ: Ġ' ĠBack Ġoff Ġbo og al oo Ġ... Ġo oh Ġyou Ġ, Ġbo og al oo Ġ. Ġ' Ġ' ĠDo Ġyou Ġwant Ġsome Ġpotatoes Ġ? Ġ' Ġ' ĠO oh Ġyou Ġ, Ġbo og al oo Ġ! Ġ' Ġ" ĠStarr Ġalso Ġrecalled Ġhaving Ġto Ġtake Ġthe Ġbatteries Ġout Ġof Ġhis Ġchildren Ġ' s Ġtoys Ġthat Ġnight Ġ, Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġpower Ġa Ġtape Ġrecorder Ġand Ġmake Ġa Ġrecording Ġof Ġthe Ġnew Ġsong Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġlyrics Ġto Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġeight Ġof Ġ" ĠBack ĠOff ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġcame Ġto ĠStarr Ġwhile Ġwatching ĠLondon ĠWeekend ĠTelevision Ġ' s Ġfootball Ġshow Ġ, ĠThe ĠBig ĠMatch Ġ. ĠThe Ġprogram Ġ' s Ġhost Ġ, ĠJimmy ĠHill Ġ, Ġoften Ġreferred Ġto Ġa Ġfootballer Ġ' s Ġplaying Ġas Ġ" Ġtasty Ġ" Ġ, Ġa Ġcatch phrase Ġthat ĠStarr Ġincorporated Ġinto Ġhis Ġsong Ġlyrics Ġ: Ġ Ġ ĠGet Ġyourself Ġtogether Ġnow Ġ Ġ ĠAnd Ġgive Ġme Ġsomething Ġtasty Ġ Ġ ĠEverything Ġyou Ġtry Ġto Ġdo Ġ Ġ ĠYou Ġknow Ġit Ġsure Ġsounds Ġwasted Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠComment ators Ġhave Ġinterpreted Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġand Ġparticularly Ġthis Ġstatement Ġ, Ġas Ġan Ġattack Ġby ĠStarr Ġon Ġhis Ġformer ĠBeatles Ġband mate ĠPaul ĠMcCartney Ġ. ĠStarr Ġhas Ġdenied Ġany Ġsuch Ġinterpretation Ġ, Ġinstead Ġ" Ġclaiming Ġthat Ġthe Ġsong Ġwas Ġinspired Ġby ĠBol an Ġand Ġnothing Ġmore Ġ" Ġ, ĠBeatles Ġbi ographer ĠRobert ĠRodriguez Ġwrites Ġ. ĠStarr Ġhad Ġpublicly Ġcriticised ĠMcCartney Ġ' s Ġsolo Ġalbums ĠMcCartney Ġ( Ġ1970 Ġ) Ġand ĠRam Ġ( Ġ1971 Ġ) Ġon Ġrelease Ġ, Ġand Ġauthor ĠBruce ĠSp izer Ġparaph r ases Ġthe Ġmessage Ġof Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġeight Ġas Ġ" Ġa Ġplea Ġfor ĠPaul Ġto Ġproduce Ġbetter Ġmusic Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġmention Ġof Ġ" Ġsound Ġ[ Ġing Ġ] Ġwasted Ġ" Ġcould Ġalso Ġbe Ġa Ġreference Ġto ĠMcCartney Ġ' s Ġover ind ul gence Ġwith Ġcannabis Ġ, ĠRodriguez Ġsuggests Ġ. ĠA Ġfurther Ġexample Ġof ĠStarr Ġ' s Ġallegedly Ġanti Ġ@ - @ ĠMcCartney Ġmessage Ġexists Ġin Ġthe Ġsong Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġverse Ġ: Ġ Ġ ĠWake Ġup Ġ, Ġmeat head Ġ Ġ ĠDon Ġ' t Ġpretend Ġthat Ġyou Ġare Ġdead Ġ Ġ ĠGet Ġyourself Ġup Ġoff Ġthe Ġcart Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsame Ġcommentators Ġsuggest Ġthat Ġhere ĠStarr Ġcould Ġbe Ġreferring Ġto Ġthe Ġ1969 Ġ" ĠPaul ĠIs ĠDead Ġ" Ġhoax Ġ. ĠThe Ġlatter Ġrum our Ġcirculated Ġduring ĠSeptember Ġand ĠOctober Ġof Ġthat Ġyear Ġwhile ĠMcCartney Ġhid Ġaway Ġon Ġhis ĠScottish Ġfarm Ġ, Ġdisc ons olate Ġafter ĠJohn ĠLennon Ġhad Ġtold Ġhim Ġand ĠStarr Ġthat Ġhe Ġwanted Ġa Ġ" Ġdivorce Ġ" Ġfrom Ġthe ĠBeatles Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġaddition Ġto Ġthese Ġsupposed Ġmessages Ġin Ġ" ĠBack ĠOff ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġ, Ġobservers Ġhave Ġviewed Ġthe Ġsong Ġtitle Ġas ĠStarr Ġ' s Ġrebuke Ġto ĠMcCartney Ġto Ġabandon Ġhis Ġlegal Ġstand Ġagainst Ġthe ĠBeatles Ġand ĠApple ĠCorps Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġplaced Ġin Ġreceivers hip Ġin ĠMarch Ġ1971 Ġafter Ġa ĠHigh ĠCourt Ġjudge Ġfound Ġin ĠMcCartney Ġ' s Ġfavour Ġ. ĠAuthor ĠKeith ĠBad man Ġwrites Ġthat Ġ" ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġhad Ġ" Ġlong Ġbeen Ġcited Ġas ĠPaul Ġ' s Ġnickname Ġ" Ġfrom Ġhis Ġformer Ġband mates ĠStarr Ġ, ĠLennon Ġand ĠGeorge ĠHarrison Ġ. ĠWhile Ġacknowledging Ġthat Ġin Ġsubsequent Ġyears ĠStarr Ġmight Ġhave Ġchosen Ġto Ġminim ise Ġany Ġill Ġ@ - @ Ġfeeling Ġtowards ĠMcCartney Ġ, ĠRodriguez Ġnotes Ġthat Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġ" Ġjust Ġhappened Ġto Ġfit Ġperfectly Ġinto Ġthe Ġ' Ġus Ġvs . ĠPaul Ġ' Ġmindset Ġ" Ġfollowing Ġthe ĠBeatles Ġ' Ġbreak Ġ@ - @ Ġup Ġ, Ġto Ġthe Ġextent Ġthat Ġ" ĠBack ĠOff ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġwas Ġ" Ġas Ġdamning Ġas Ġ' ĠEarly Ġ1970 Ġ' Ġhad Ġbeen Ġconc ili atory Ġ" Ġ. ĠWhen Ġtail oring Ġhis Ġ1970 Ġcomposition Ġ" ĠI Ġ' m Ġthe ĠGreatest Ġ" Ġfor ĠStarr Ġto Ġrecord Ġon Ġthe Ġalbum ĠRing o Ġ( Ġ1973 Ġ) Ġ, ĠLennon Ġreferenced Ġthe Ġsong Ġtitle Ġwith Ġthe Ġlines Ġ" ĠNow ĠI Ġ' m Ġonly Ġthirty Ġ@ - @ Ġtwo Ġ/ ĠAnd Ġall ĠI Ġwant Ġto Ġdo Ġis Ġbo og al oo Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġ" ĠT ĠRex Ġdevote es Ġ" Ġ, Ġin Ġthe Ġwords Ġof ĠStarr Ġbi ographer ĠAlan ĠCl ayson Ġ, Ġclaimed Ġthat ĠBol an Ġhad Ġghost Ġ@ - @ Ġwritten Ġ" ĠBack ĠOff ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġ, ĠStarr Ġlater Ġacknowledged Ġthat ĠHarrison Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġwrote Ġthe Ġsong Ġby Ġadding Ġsome Ġchords Ġand Ġfinishing Ġthe Ġmelody Ġ. ĠAs Ġon ĠStarr Ġ' s Ġ1971 Ġhit Ġsingle Ġ" ĠIt ĠDon Ġ' t ĠCome ĠEasy Ġ" Ġ, ĠHarrison Ġwas Ġnot Ġcredited Ġfor Ġhis Ġsong writing Ġcontribution Ġ. ĠStarr Ġoriginally Ġoffered Ġ" ĠBack ĠOff ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġto Ġfellow ĠLiver p ud l ian ĠC illa ĠBlack Ġto Ġrecord Ġ, Ġbut Ġshe Ġdeclined Ġ, Ġhoping Ġinstead Ġto Ġrecord Ġanother Ġnew ĠStarr ĠâĢĵ ĠHarrison Ġcomposition Ġ, Ġ" ĠPhotograph Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRecording Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠHaving Ġear marked Ġthe Ġsong Ġas Ġhis Ġnext Ġsingle Ġ, ĠStarr Ġrecorded Ġ" ĠBack ĠOff ĠBo og al oo Ġ" Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ1971 Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġhis Ġappearance Ġat Ġthe ĠHarrison Ġ@ - @ Ġorganised ĠConcert Ġfor ĠBangladesh Ġin ĠNew ĠYork Ġ. ĠThe Ġsessions Ġtook Ġplace Ġat ĠApple ĠStudio Ġin Ġcentral ĠLondon Ġ, Ġwith ĠHarrison Ġproducing Ġ, Ġas Ġhe Ġhad Ġon Ġ" ĠIt ĠDon Ġ' t ĠCome ĠEasy Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġrecording Ġreflects Ġthe Ġinfluence Ġof Ġglam Ġrock Ġon ĠStarr Ġthrough Ġwhat Ġauthors ĠChip ĠMad inger Ġand ĠMark ĠEaster Ġterm Ġ" Ġits Ġbig Ġdrum Ġsound Ġand Ġrepet itious Ġnature Ġ" Ġ, Ġwith Ġa Ġline Ġ@ - @ Ġup Ġcomprising ĠStarr Ġ( Ġvocals Ġ, Ġdrums Ġ, Ġpercussion Ġ) Ġ, ĠHarrison Ġ( Ġguitars Ġ) Ġ, ĠGary ĠWright Ġ( Ġpiano Ġ) Ġand ĠKlaus ĠVo orm ann Ġ( Ġbass Ġ, Ġsax ophone Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRodriguez Ġdescribes ĠStarr Ġ' s Ġ" Ġmartial Ġ@ - @ Ġsounding Ġopening Ġ" Ġas Ġa Ġrare Ġ" Ġshowcase Ġfor Ġhis Ġown Ġdrum ming Ġ" Ġ, Ġwhile ĠHarrison Ġbi ographer ĠSimon ĠL eng Ġwrites Ġof Ġ" Ġa