Ringo Starr still feels like he's 27.
The Beatles drummer will turn 83 on Friday (07.07.23) but he insisting "nothing" makes him "feel old" and he just does his best to stay busy.
He told People magazine: "Nothing makes me feel old. In my head, I'm 27. Wisdom's a heavy word. [Getting older] is what happens, and you try and keep yourself busy...
"I never felt really down. I mean, I have my moments, of course. But my spirits are high. That's all I can say, really."
Ringo recalled his shock when he was 23 and struck up a conversation with the musicians performing with Helen Shapiro - the singer the Beatles were opening for - because he was amazed back then that people would keep playing in their 40s.
He said: "I was talking to the band and I said, 'Well, how old are you?' And the guy says, 'I'm 40.' '40?! And you're still doing it?' Little did I know! It's far out. But that's always stuck with me."
The 'Yellow Submarine' hitmaker will spend his birthday with wife Barbara in Los Angeles for his annual Peace + Love event, during which he encourages fans to send a wave of outpouring of piece and love across the globe at noon, however they wish to do so.
The event began in 2008 when Ringo was asked in an interview what he'd like fans to get him for his birthday.
He said: "Really without thinking, I said, 'I would like them all to go, 'Peace and love,' at noon on my birthday, 7/7, seventh day of the seventh month.
"That's how it started. We've been doing it now for so many years. And now I've upped it a bit because I say, 'You can say peace and love or you can just think peace and love.' So any way, you're winning."
The drummer sticks to a strict diet but will have "a forkful" of cake to mark his birthday.
He said: "In Liverpool, you have to have a piece of the cake. I have a forkful, and that's because I have to do it. It's tradition.
"I'm trying to be totally sugar-free, but that's impossible."
