Red Hot Chili Peppers have been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame to mark the band’s four decades in music.

The Los Angeles group, who formed back in 1983, returned with their 12th studio album ‘Unlimited Love’ today (April 1).

On the eve of the record’s release, the Chilis’ current line-up – Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and John Frusciante – were in attendance to receive the 2,717th star on the coveted Walk Of Fame.

Taking to the podium first, guitarist Frusciante – who returned to RHCP in 2019 after almost a decade – recalled first moving to Hollywood as a teenager in 1987 before thanking “everybody in the world who our music means something to”.

Flea then looked back at his longstanding connection to Hollywood Boulevard, telling those in attendance that he “panhandled” there as a youngster and played trumpet at the nearby University Of Southern California.

“I know this street inside out, and this street knows me,” he said. “And whenever we’ve travelled around the world, this street has always been a part of me. I’m really grateful that now we can be a part of it.”

Next up, Smith acknowledged the “amazing turnout” for the ceremony and gave shout outs to past members of the band. “I have to give a shout out to my brother Taylor Hawkins,” he continued, “who I love and we’ll all miss so much.”

Smith added: “He’s flying around […] He would laugh and make a nice smart-ass comment about this whole thing, and I love him.”

Kiedis said: “To me, this is not a story of individuals. I love Chad, I love Flea, I love John, greatly. They are amazingly talented […] Something happens when we come together which is much greater than the individual parts.

“The sum total of our parts is that we were able to find something that we love doing and communicate with the entire world. We started off playing dive bars up and down this street and making a handful of people dance.”

He continued: “We stuck together as a team and as a band, and now we can make everybody dance and feel joy.”

George Clinton and Woody Harrelson also gave speeches about Red Hot Chili Peppers at the ceremony. The former produced the band’s second album ‘Freaky Styley’, which came out in 1985.

You can watch the full Walk Of Fame ceremony in the video above.

Speaking about ‘Unlimited Love’ during a Big Read cover interview with NME, Anthony Kiedis explained: “I really didn’t want to tell the same old story that we’ve been hearing for the last 50 years in rock music.

“I liked reaching out in 10,000 directions and seeing what was out there. We weren’t limiting ourselves but trying to tap into something that is honest and emotional. Hopefully, we’ve said something that hasn’t been said before, or at least said it in a way that hasn’t.”

The Chilis also noted that reconnecting with John Frusciante was a game-changer for their sound.

In a four-star review of the group’s new record, NME wrote: “There’s a lot to ‘Unlimited Love’, both in scale and ambition. It’s at once familiar – without being boring – and fresh (but never at the expense of the band’s identity).

“On their 12th album, Red Hot Chili Peppers not only get comfortable with their own impressive legacy, but prove there’s plenty more to come.”