Call me Ringo. That's what the former Beatles drummer says when asked if we should call him Sir.
He joins us at the swanky Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood where rock stars have gathered for decades in a luxury oasis behind the Sunset Strip.
We're here to talk music – specifically Ringo Starr's new country album, Long Long Road.
But first we deal with the honorifics because although he was knighted in 2018 for his services to music, technically, he says, it's wrong to call him Sir Ringo because he's actually Sir Richard.
Sir Richard laughs. He just wants to talk music, and he's not worried about formalities or titles. His new album is more Nashville than Los Angeles and he seems more LA than Liverpool as he encourages an American interviewing a British national treasure for the BBC to just relax.
Peace and love, he says, a soothing catchphrase often used by the 85-year-old music legend who looks, moves and sings like a much younger man.
I've always loved the attitude of LA, he says, adding that he's had a home here since the 1970s.
Besides, I love the heat and the light, it's just been a good place for me.
On his new country album, Starr collaborates with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings and St Vincent.
And he says that's the way he likes it. He never plays music alone, not even to practice.
That's how I did it. I made all my mistakes on stage, he says.
Before joining The Beatles, he says he was practicing drums alone as a kid, and the neighbors complained, yelling at him to shut up.
I think that's what did it, he says laughing, adding that he tells all his grandchildren to stop practicing music alone and to get together and join a band.
Country music now is very cool, of course. Even Beyoncé's making country music. Her album Cowboy Carter won the top prize at the Grammys last year, rare for country music.
Starr says T Bone Burnett, who produced the album, knows all the great musicians in Nashville.
He shares that recording in Nashville means that musicians spontaneously come in to play, creating a vibrant and collaborative atmosphere.
As he sets out on tour for his new album, Starr looks forward to bringing his music to fans across the western US, demonstrating that collaboration and joy are at the heart of his creative process.
