In this post, I celebrate the long-time mantra of musician Ringo Starr – Peace and Love – as well as the Beatles’ drummer recently completing his 2026 All-Starr Band tour. And, yes, he’s nearly 86-years young.

When counseling people prior to their speaking engagements or important presentations, I consistently emphasize the fact that they must remain, well…consistent. All too often, speeches or presentations go off the rails because speakers fail to emphasize their primary message points.

The lure of saying whatever pops into your mind is often incredibly hard to resist. Doing so can have dire consequences. Ringo Starr, though, has never had that problem.

To illustrate this, I often ask clients what Ringo has stood for throughout the entirety of his public life. They quickly reply, “peace and love,” which is indeed the correct response. They recall this because 1. Ringo has a tremendous message; and 2. He is consistent in delivering it. Most often, the lightbulb over their heads lights up and they remember to emphasize and repeat their primary messages, too.

Thank you, Ringo, for helping me to drive this important piece of advice home.

Ringo, who turns 86-years-old on July 7, and his All-Starr Band completed their 12-date spring 2026 tour across the western United States on June 14. His bandmates included Steve Lukather, the original lead guitarist in Toto; Colin Hay, lead vocalist in Men at Work; Warren Ham, who played with both Kansas and Toto; Hamish Stuart, lead guitarist and falsetto voice in Average White Band; drummer Gregg Bissonette, who also played with David Lee Roth’s band; and Buck Johnson, best known for his role as keyboardist and backing vocalist with Aerosmith.

At each performance – and really wherever Ringo goes – he continues the spread the same message of peace and love he proclaimed over 60 years ago as the young drummer in The Beatles. Ringo has always been a lovable character with a big smile and his hands forming the peace sign.

In a world that is never short of hate and war, Ringo stands for all that is good. He has never wavered from his main belief and primary message to the world. Everyone smiles when Ringo says things such as, “Well, I’m getting happier all the time, which is very nice.”¹ What tremendous life advice to follow.

No doubt he will celebrate his birthday the same way he has for many years. By making a public appearance to spread his peace and love message while sharing birthday cake. We can all benefit from the positive, succinct, and memorable message Ringo consistently shares. 

Peace and Love. It doesn’t get any better than that. Although often overlooked during his years with The Beatles, Ringo is a tremendous drummer. With his ongoing countenance of peace and love, he’s an even better person.

REMEMBER

◊ Ringo said, “People only look at me as a Beatle, but my friends look at me as a whole person. That’s how life works, but it’s not bugging me anymore.”² He is a proponent of the benefits of meditation and quieting the mind. “I’ve made mountains out of molehills,” he said. “With meditation, I can keep them as molehills.”³

◊ Along with his Beatle bandmates, John, Paul, and George, Ringo taught us the wisdom that we can all get by with a little help from our friends. Ringo was born on the day that World War II began, a major catastrophic event that emphasizes to this day the importance of helping everyone around us. “I don’t remember all the bombs,” he said, “but they did actually break up Liverpool. I remember when I was a little older, there were big gaps in all the streets where houses used to be. We used to play over them.”⁴

◊ This blog post is an excerpt from Dave’s upcoming book manuscript, Take This With You…100 Messages to Accompany You on Your Life Journey, that is currently in the re-writing phase. Visit www.davidajolley.com for additional blog posts, other interesting content, and updates on future book releases and appearances.

1. Starr, Ringo; www.brainyquote.com/authors/ringo-starr-quotes ↩︎
2. Starr, Ringo; www.brainyquote.com/authors/ringo-starr-quotes ↩︎
3. Starr, Ringo; Brainy Quote ↩︎
4. Starr, Ringo; Brainy Quote ↩︎