When Ringo collapsed with tonsilitis and pharyngitis on the eve of the Beatles' 1964 World Tour, drummer Jimmy Nicol, formerly of Georgie Fame's Blue Flames, was called in as a substitute. Over the coming weeks, whenever he was asked what it was like to be a Beatle, Nicol would reply controllably, "It's getting better". Paul and John eventually set this refrain to music on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
While on tour, Nicol took advantage of his publicly unfamiliar face and shopped for jewellery in Hong Kong and sat in nightclubs in Sydney. These activities did not endear him to John, Paul and George, who were confined to their hotel rooms. He appeared with the group in the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Australia before being thrust back into obscurity upon Ringo's return in Melbourne. He didn't awaken the Fabs to say goodbye on the morning of his return to Britain.