NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - With a little help from his friends, Ringo did it again.

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and the latest edition of his All Starr Band launched their 2010 North American tour on Thursday night at Fallsview Casino Resort's Avalon Ballroom with the first of two back-to-back sold-out shows.

It's the second time Starr has rehearsed and launched a tour at Fallsview, he did so previously in 2008, and three times before that he did so at Casino Rama, in Orillia, Ont.

Obviously, the 69-year-old Liverpudlian loves Canada. He told a Wednesday press conference in the casino's ballroom, he has no plans to stop the trend of coming across the border to rehearse and launch his roadtrips.

"We're just well looked after and as far as I'm concerned we'll come back every other year.

"And the people are gorgeous," he added with a smile.

Right back at ya, Ringo, who is about to turn 70 on July 7, but looks a good decade and a half younger, all fit and trim and energetic as ever.

The lineup for this year's All Starr Band is keyboardist-saxophonist-drummer Edgar Winter, singer-keyboardist Gary Wright, singer-guitarist Rick Derringer, Mister Mr. singer-bassist Richard Page, Romantics singer-guitarist Wally Palmar and drummer Gregg Bissonette.

And like every other time the All Starr Band has gone on the road, they all got their turns in the spotlight when Starr wasn't grabbing it for himself with still stunning 62-year-old wife Barbara Bach - those cheekbones! - cheering him on in the crowd from the 11th row.

Starr opened the nearly two-hour show with It Don't Come Easy and Honey Don't before getting up behind the drum kit about half way through his more recent song, Choose Love, alongside Bissonette on a lower riser.

Bobbing his head and smiling away, it was clear he was having fun and still loves his job.

Starr was also his usual dry, witty self, even at his own expense when he misidentified the first guest performer of the night to follow him as Palmar instead of Derringer.

"Excuse me, it's the first night," said Starr.

And when Wright explained that Beatles guitarist George Harrison took him to India and gave him many books, Starr quipped afterwards: "George Harrison never gave me no damn books."

Derringer, who is definitely bringing a harder guitar-rock edge to this year's lineup, performed The McCoys' Hang On Sloopy before introducing his former White Trash (the band that is) group member Winter.

The long, lean and lanky Winter, still sporting his trademark luxurious white mullet God bless him, packed a major wallop as a live performer during Free Ride and Frankenstein, the latter which saw him perform on keyboards, sax and drums, sometimes both at the same time.

Vocally, both Wright and Page were the strongest performers of the night on their own respective hits, Dream Weaver and My Love Is Alive, and Kyrie and Broken Wings.

But Palmar was also a dynamo during such Romantics classics as Talking In Your Sleep and What I Like About You and nobody's musicianship was stronger than Derringer's virtuoso guitar display on his own Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo.

Starr is ostensibly touring in support of his latest album, Y Not, which notably features his Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney on two songs, but only performed two tracks from that record, TheOther Side Of Liverpool and Peace Dream.

"I only make records now for the kids - my kids," he joked. "I give them a copy."

Instead, Starr satisfied Beatles fans in the crowd by delivering such Fab Four hits as Yellow Submarine, and With A Little Help From My Friends and a snippet of John Lennon's Give Peace A Chance just before he walked off stage, flashing his ever present peace sign right to the end.

In the meantime, a CD-DVD called Live At The Greek Theatre 2008, featuring Starr and his All Starr Band of that year, will be released on July 27.

SET LIST:

It Don't Come Easy

Honey Don't

Choose Love

Hang On Sloopy

Free Ride

Talking In Your Sleep

Be Your Man

Dream Weaver

Kyrie

The Other Side Of Liverpool

Yellow Submarine

Frankenstein

Peace Dream

Back Off Boogaloo

What I Like About You

Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo

Boys

My Love Is Alive

Broken Wings

Photograph

Act Naturally

With A Little Help From My Friends/Give Peace a Chance