Ringo Starr is returning to Canada in June to rehearse for and then launch his latest All-Starr tour in support of his just released album, Liverpool 8.

The 67-year-old onetime Beatles drummer, who has chosen Casino Rama near Orillia, Ont., as the tour rehearsal and launch spot for his past three albums, confirmed the news in a teleconference interview yesterday when asked by Sun Media.

"I'm touring again this summer, and we will be rehearsing in Canada," Starr said down the line from London. "Now I'm not sure if it's going to be Casino Rama again, so there's two choices of where we'll rehearse but they're both in Canada. It will be in June."

Casino Rama confirmed yesterday Starr will not be returning this year, so the other choice would likely be Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont., although a spokesperson contacted yesterday there could not confirm Starr was coming.

The drummer last toured in 2006 with his ever-revolving All-Starr Band lineup made up of three-time member Sheila E, Rod Argent (The Zombies), Richard Marx, Billy Squier and Hamish Stuart. For that trip he spent over a week rehearsing at Casino Rama before launching the trek.

"I love playing," Starr said yesterday. "A long, long time ago my mother said, 'You're always happy when you're playing.' And people say that today. I love to play. It's just a thing that I'm blessed with."

Starr said he particularly enjoyed performing alongside his Liverpool 8 co-producer, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, in his hometown of Liverpool last week as part of in support of their so-called Capital of Culture events.

"I felt great, actually," he said. "I felt the excitement of the time because it was the opening of the city of culture and I was proud. I'm from Liverpool and they got the gig. But it was just great to be back there with all the excitement. So I got caught up in the excitement."

Starr called the title track from Liverpool 8, named for the district where he lived as a child and released this past Tuesday, the most autobiographical song he's ever written. The tune mentions his five-week stint in the merchant marines, working in a factory, playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and the early days of the Beatles, playing in Hamburg, Germany, and at Shea Stadium in New York.

"It's just about my life," he said of the song. "The time is right. You don't plan that. It just happens. This is the time to sing that song."