On July 7th, 2008, Ringo Starr invited fans to join him on the streets on Los Angeles to celebrate his birthday with a simple direction: Say the words “peace and love” when the clock hit noon. He’s been doing it ever since, and the gathering has spread to more than 20 countries around the world and on social media, to “create a wave of Peace & Love across the planet.”
Starr will return to the Capitol Records Tower in L.A. on his birthday this year for an event that will also include appearances by wife Barbara Starkey, plus Ringo’s All Star Band alum Sheila E., Edgar Winter, Nils Lofgren, Jim Keltner, and Starr’s friends such as Ed Begley Jr., Richard Lewis, T-Bone Burnett, Benmont Tench, and Life is Good founders Bert and John Jacobs. There will also be performances by Ben Kyle (from Minneapolis group Romantica), Sara Watkins and Southern California rock band the Jacks.
“I’ve said it before but I really can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday, or a better gift I could ask for, than peace and love,” Starr said in a statement. “It’s so great how every year it keeps growing, with the wave of peace and love starting in the morning on July 7 in Australia and ending in Hawaii, with celebrations in all the time zones in between. I am so happy to be back at Capitol Records, and for our great sponsors who are carrying the message of peace and love around the world, like the David Lynch Foundation, Life is Good, SiriusXM, Modern Drummer and Starbucks. I also want to thank each and everyone of you for continuing to help spread peace and love, Ringo.”
Starr kicks off his next All Starr Band tour on August 1st in Windsor, Canada, which run throughout the U.S. for a month.