Why did Ringo walk out in 1968?

Ringo: not a happy bunny in 1968

Abbey Road was not a happy working environment during the recording sessions for The White Album. Ringo, the least involved in the squabbling and backbiting, suffered the most from the emotional fall out:

I couldn't take it any more. There was no magic and the relationships were terrible. I'd come to a bad spot in life. It could have been paranoia, but I just didn't feel good – I felt like an outsider.  Ringo, Anthology
Things came to a head on the 22nd of August, 1968. The precise trigger point is unknown but at some point during a recording session for Back in the USSR, Ringo stepped away from his drum kit. Muttering "I'm leaving,", he walked out of the studio.

Surprised, the others did not initially take this 'resignation' seriously. They continued the recording session, assuming Ringo would return as unobtrusively as he had left.

Sardinia


But the next day Ringo headed in the opposite direction to Abbey Road, taking his family on impromptu holiday to Sardinia. When he didn't appear in the studio, the other Beatles that they had a serious crisis to deal with. It proved the jolt they needed to bring them together.

Within days Ringo, who was staying on his friend Peter Sellers's yacht, received a telegram from his band-mates:  'You're the best rock'n'roll drummer in the world. Come on home, we love you.'

Traveller Returns

Two weeks later Ringo returned to the studio to find his drum kit garlanded with flowers. The effect salutary on all concerned.  'I felt good about myself again, we'd got through that little crisis.'

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