My heart swells when look at my kit..

THERE have been many a hard day's night, when he was working like a dog, but Ringo Starr still loves playing the drums.

- MARK JEFFERIES

The man who put the beat into the Beatles decades ago still gets a kick out of making music and playing gigs.

And Sir Ringo's lust for life and positive outlook is undimmed, even as he approaches his 84th birthday in July.

In his Los Angeles recording studio he has drums set up just like the Ludwig kit he used with the Fab Four.

Smiling Ringo says: "The thrill is hitting those drums. I have a passion for playing. My heart swells when I look at my kit, you know, I still love them. I'm still using them all these years later.

"I'm a drummer so I need a band in front of me. I get to play with a lot of good players. I play all the songs and they play mine. I still do it because I love it. And I still do it because I can."

Ringo is chatting on Zoom from his home studio, which used to be a guest house. "The room the drums are in was the bedroom, what was great was we set up the kit and we get a great sound.

It's 15 or 16ft square, it's not big but you can plug in [guitars] directly and there's a little kitchen cos it was a guest house.

"So we can have a cup of tea or coffee and carry on with our work. If you play the last four EPs you'll see what sort of sound we get." Ringo has been busy releasing new music and at the end of May a new EP, Crooked Boy, featuring four new songs written and produced by Songwriters Hall of Fame star Linda Perry, will be out on vinyl and CD.

He loves the ease with which demos and parts of tracks can be shared and sent around the world from his home these days. But he does have one demand for new songs, which is in keeping with his peaceful and positive outlook on life.