After more than 50 years in the business, English music legend Peter Frampton looks set to hang up his guitar following his diagnosis of a degenerative muscle disease.
Back in 1966, a 16-year-old Peter Frampton took on vocal duties for London group The Herd. After a couple of years fronting the band, Frampton teamed up with Small Faces’ Steve Marriott to form Humble Pie, often called one of the first supergroups.
In the early ’70s though, Frampton embarked upon a solo career. While his first few albums were met with a relatively muted response, it was the success of 1976’s Frampton Comes Alive! that truly put the artist on the map, going on to sell over 11 million copies.
Now, the music legend has revealed his health has begun to deteriorate, revealing he has been diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease that will soon make it impossible to play guitar.
Check out Peter Frampton’s ‘Show Me The Way’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al9WmowJ3bQ
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Peter Frampton explained that he first noticed signs of his condition after experiencing ankle tightness in the mornings.
Soon, Frampton found himself unable to lift heavy items, noticing something was truly wrong after falling while trying to kick a beach ball back to a fan during a concert. Seeking medial help, Frampton was eventually diagnosed with the inflammatory muscle disease Inclusion-Body Myositis (IBM).
“It was revealed to me that it wouldn’t just affect my legs and my arms, but it’s going to affect my fingers,” Frampton explained. “That was the most troubling thing, obviously, for me.”
In the wake of his diagnosis, Peter Frampton revealed that he was announcing a farewell tour so that he could say goodbye to his fans while still at the top of his game.
“Right now, it’s progressing but I’m still at the top of my game,” Frampton told Rolling Stone. “We decided to do a farewell tour now since I don’t want to go out and not be able to play well.”
“If I’m going to do a farewell tour, I want to play good. I want to rock it. I know that this tour, I will be able to do everything I did last year and the year before. That’s the most important thing to me.”
“I want to go out screaming as opposed to, ‘He can’t play anymore.'”
Check out Peter Frampton’s ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’:
Despite this news, Peter Frampton revealed that he is still looking forward to the future, noting his desire to continue playing, and even revealing he has three new albums in the works.
“Beyond my fingers, which is the guitar-playing part, there’s my legs too. Getting around is getting more difficult,” he explained. “I don’t want to stop playing. That’s the last thing I want to stop doing.”
“I’m going to be playing as long as I can play, but this will be the last extended tour. I can’t say what I’ll be doing next year.”
Peter Frampton’s farewell tour is set to kick off in June, and is set to wrap up in October. At this stage, only American dates have been announced, so there’s no word yet if international fans will get a chance to say goodbye to the music legend.
Check out Peter Frampton’s ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’:
