Ringo's 10 greatest beats

THE BEATLES IN THE USA: Following Lennon's beautiful vocals and McCartney's bass chords, Ringo's insistent rhythms and effective use of his bass drum punctuate and support the song fantastically.

Like all the band's early, energetic cover versions, Ringo and the other Fab Three give the Little Richard classic pace and raw rock energy.

From Help!, this track is memorable for Ringo's perfectly placed tom in the flamed main verse groove and rapid fill to bring the song's chorus to a climax.

In drumming terms, Ringo was going through something of a purple patch, with this track one of three recorded on the Revolver sessions to make this list. His machinegun fills punctuate the track and again become a kind of signature. The track was the B-side to Paperback Writer.

Ringo's relentlessly funky beat – which was later sampled by The Chemical Brothers – made The Beatles' mystical, Indian-styled 'Tomorrow Never Knows' truly inspiring.

'She Said She Said', from Revolver, is a great example of Ringo's inventiveness and great touch; his flurrying fill becomes the tune's motif.

The AA side with 'We Can Work It Out' is given a solid four-to-the-floor chorus and syncopated verse with some nice little ghosted snare notes and perfectly judged fills.

Ringo's galloping snare and shuffling fills, punctuated with effective cymbal crashes drive this late Beatles track, which grew from a studio jam, with real finesse.

The opening track of Abbey Road is, by the common consensus, one of Ringo's very finest moments. It features a recurring drum motif that acts as the song's main hook, based around 16th-note triplets around the hi-hat and toms.

Closing out Abbey Road is the rarest of things – a Ringo solo, recorded across two tracks in 'true stereo' (drums were normally mixed in mono then hard-panned right in the mix). Just argue with this, Ringo nay-sayers.