Legendary guitarist and talk box guru Peter Frampton has released some special edition COVID-19 merchandise.
The new T-shirts feature a modified version of Frampton’s iconic Frampton Comes Alive! album cover, with the guitarist now wearing a surgical mask. The album title is also updated to read “Frampton Stays Inside!”
The graphic on the rear of the shirt is a riff on a regular tour T-shirt. “Shelter In Place – House Tour 2020,” it says in bold font. The usual list of cities and venues has been replaced by various locations around the house. For example: “February…Living Room” and “March…Kitchen.”
The release of this pun-tastic merch doesn’t come without a note of bittersweetness for Frampton and his followers. The 70-year-old British born guitarist was scheduled to embark on his UK/EU farewell tour this March. However, he was forced to cancel the tour in April and encouraged ticket holders to seek refunds.
The fact he didn’t postpone the events could be down to his degenerative illness. Upon announcing the farewell tour in February 2019, Frampton revealed he’d been diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM). “IBM is a progressive muscle disorder characterised by muscle inflammation, weakness, and atrophy,” he said.
The new merch isn’t merely a ploy to fill the void created by the cancelled tour dates, however. The shirts are raising money for the Second Harvest Food Bank, which provides food access for those in need.
Frampton Comes Alive! is easily Frampton’s most widely recognised work. This is somewhat peculiar given it’s a live album, but several tracks from the record are established staples on classic rock radio.
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The album was released in early 1976 and consists of recordings from Frampton’s US tour of the previous year. The record is distinguished by Frampton’s utilisation of a talk box effects unit on the singles ‘Show Me the Way’ and ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’.
Check out ‘Show Me the Way’ by Peter Frampton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLgeTtYwQ7o
