Ringo Starr, who had just directed the documentary film Born To Boogie, paid tribute to its subject with this T. Rex hommage, Back Off Boogaloo.

Like his first solo hit, It Don’t Come Easy, it’s carried along on George Harrison’s distinctive slide guitar; unlike George’s own material there’s no nonsensical guff about spiritual enlightenment in the lyrics – Ringo just wasn’t that kind of dude.

The Glam-influenced stomper reached No.2 in the charts, helped by this curious Frankenstein-themed video shot at John Lennon’s home, Tittenhurst Park, when he was house-sitting the estate.

He and Bolan used to hang out at the Apple Movies office with Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon, which must have made quite a gathering – I imagine the office bar had to be kept well stocked for their arrival.

Apparently, Ringo was struck by how often Bolan used the word “boogaloo” in conversation. “Bolan was an energised guy,” he recalled later. “He used to say: ‘Back off, boogaloo… Ooh you, boogaloo'” And a song was born, when the tune came into his head that night. But not until Ringo took the batteries out of his children’s toys while they slept, in order to power up his tape recorder before he forgot it.

Bizarrely, the lyrics to the middle eight came to him while watching The Big Match on TV, noticing that Jimmy Hill often referred to a piece of skill as “tasty.” In such mundane ways are great songs born… as well as this one, which won’t go down as one of the best, even in the modest niche of Ringo’s solo career, but was still a memorable part of that year.

Ringo initially offered the song to his fellow Scouser, Cilla Black, but she declined, hoping to be given a crack at another of his songs, the superior Photograph, instead. So Ringo did it himself after the Concert for Bangladesh, George Harrison adding his guitar part and helping out with the melody.

Needless to say, Beatles fans think the song contains coded messages about Ringo’s rivalry (what rivalry?) with Paul McCartney – because they always do – notably the opening verse of the song, and the middle eight, and the reconciliation with the monster in the video. But he denies it and, really, who cares?