"Early 1970" is a song by English musician Ringo Starr, released in April 1971 as the B-side to his hit single "It Don't Come Easy". It was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents Starr's relationship with his former bandmates, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on each of the ex-Beatles' personal lives and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again; in the final verse, Starr acknowledges his musical limitations before expressing the hope that all the former Beatles will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.

Starr recorded the song, under its working title "When Four Knights Come to Town", in London in October 1970, midway through the sessions for Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album. The recording features musical contributions from Harrison and German bass player Klaus Voormann, and some Beatles biographers suggest that Lennon might have participated also.

Writing in 1981, NME critic Bob Woffinden described the effect of the Beatles' break-up on drummer Ringo Starr as "shattering". Although the official announcement came on 10 April 1970, the group's demise was initiated by John Lennon's statement during a September 1969 band meeting that he wanted a "divorce" from his fellow Beatles. In a February 1970 interview in Look magazine, midway through sessions for his first solo album, Sentimental Journey, Starr explained his disorientation: "I keep looking around and thinking where are they? What are they doing? When will they come back and talk to me?" Author Bruce Spizer suggests that these sentiments "form the basis" of Starr's composition "Early 1970".

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