In 1964, Ringo, who had often been sick as a child, had tonsillitis and was in the hospital for 10 days. During the hectic schedule The Beatles led from 1963 to 1966, it was a serious problem for the band. To make up for their lack of a drummer, they invited another drummer (I don't know what band) named Jimmy Nichols to play with them on their non-stop touring. He actually turned out to be something of a jerk as he criticized Ringo for his drumming. The other three were not impressed by his lack of charisma, something that Ringo had quite a lot of. Nichols' attitude caused John to lash out angrily that Ringo was a great Beatle, even if he wasn't the best drummer, which made him all the more valuable. I think that's kind of weird, as Ringo was and is a fantastic drummer, but whatever. John said weird things like that from time to time. Ringo has reminisced that he hated being stuck in a hospital room and watching news reports on the other three and was quite glad to get back on the road. But then again, everybody was happy to have Ringo back. It's clear that while people call Ringo the "disposable Beatle" people would be very sorry indeed had he not been a part of it.
