Peter Frampton has admitted that health issues will force him to perform his farewell tour seated. Frampton, who has the degenerative condition inclusion body myositis (IBM), says it would be “dangerous” for him to stand and play an electric guitar.
Speaking to Classic Rock, Frampton acknowledged that his condition had worsened recently, leaving him at risk of a fall if he were to stand playing guitar for any length of time.
“Well… my legs are not good, and I’ve decided I am going to sit down on these upcoming tour dates in Europe,” said Frampton. “I can’t stand. That would be dangerous for me now, because I get so carried away when I’m playing that I’m liable to fall over [laughs].”
Frampton was never one for holding back onstage. But now he has to think about how to best manage his condition and finish these dates, which were interrupted by the pandemic. Following a fall onstage, Frampton was diagnosed with IBM in 2017, and made the diagnosis public when he announced his farewell tour in 2019.
The former Humble Pie and the Herd guitarist recently performed a set seated for the first time at a gig celebrating Buddy Holly’s 85th birthday, playing with Steve Cropper, Albert Lee, Duane Eddy and others. When asked about his IBM – a disease that often affects the wrists and fingers first – Frampton said that he could still play.
“It’s starting to affect my hands, but not enough yet, so I can still play a good lick,” he said. “But I’ll be honest, I’m anxious about it. I haven’t played over there in so long, and I have progressed in my disease.”
Stood or seated, Frampton promises us those final shows will be emotional when his European tour kicks off on 5 November at Stoke-On-Trent’s Victoria Hall.
It’s very emotional for me saying goodbye to anybody, let alone ten thousand people a night
Peter Frampton
“The American-Canadian portion was the most moving tour I’ve ever done,” he said. “It’s very emotional for me saying goodbye to anybody, let alone ten thousand people a night.
“I’m a live performer above all, so that’s the most moving thing for me. I don’t know what to expect in the UK and the EU, but I’m hoping it’s going to be along the same lines, because we had a blast.”
Frampton will also be appearing with Cory Wong, Nili Brosh, Steve Lukather and more at Joe Satriani’s G4 V6.0 Experience on 3-7 January 2023. It will be interesting to see if footage from any of these shows will make it onto a documentary film that the English guitar icon revealed is under way.
“Covid messed with us, obviously,” he said. “We stopped, and now we’re waiting for the final funding to be able to continue. There was a rush on music documentaries and it kind of slowed down.”
For full dates of his farewell tour, see Peter Frampton. To read Classic Rock's full interview with Frampton, head over to Magazines Direct.
