'Peace and Love': Ringo Starr Celebrates 81st Birthday In Front Of Peace-Sign Statue [Photo]

Ringo Starr celebrated his 81st birthday Wednesday in a simple drive-by event in front of his peace-sign statue in California's Beverly Hills as the singer didn't want to attract a large crowd due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chanting 'Peace and Love' while flashing the peace sign, the iconic Beatles drummer posed for photos in front of his peace-sign statue at the corner of Santa Monica and Canon in Beverly Hills.

Starr's birthday events have always been huge crowd-pullers, like the pre-pandemic gatherings in 2014 where he led "Peace and Love" shouts at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood. They are usually held at Hard Rock Cafes around the globe. Last year, the pandemic forced the star to conduct his birthday celebration online.

"Birthdays are birthdays, you know — you've got to live with it, you know? I mean, emotionally, sometimes I'm 18. We were laughing in the car saying I'm 18 today because it's 81 in reverse," he told Variety before he posed with his guests, including brother-in-law Joe Walsh and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather.

"Actually, last year, at the height of the pandemic, because we live here, just Barbara and I ran down here to do it, to keep the tradition up, by the hand. And today we've got quite a few more. I do have a mask here if anyone's complaining," he told the outlet Wednesday.

"It is what it is today. Two years ago, we were at Capitol Records with a lot of guests playing for me and hundreds of people outside. But things have changed," he added.

Before he got inside his car to leave after the event, Starr said, "I've loved the White Album all my life because we were back being a band and we made a couple of good albums, too."

It is the favorite Beatles era album because "we were playing together like a band," he told a TMZ reporter.

The "White Album" is a 1968 double album from the so-called "Fab Four."

In November 2019, Starr's 800-pound "Peace and Love" sculpture was unveiled in Beverly Hills after it was initially declined by city officials in 2017. The statue now sits in Beverly Gardens Park just across the city hall.

In March, Starr released an EP, titled "Zoom In," which features five songs recorded in his home studio. A six-hour documentary of never-before-seen restored footages of The Beatles will be featured on Disney Plus in November.