By this time the stress and pressure of Beatlemania had reached a peak for him.
During his stay the medical staff made an effort to stimulate motor activity and relieve boredom by encouraging their patients to join the hospital band, leading to his first exposure to a percussion instrument: a makeshift made from a cotton that he used to strike the cabinets next to his bed.
Starkey enjoyed dancing as his parents had years earlier, and he and Trafford briefly took dance lessons at two schools.