Peter Frampton will perform his final farewell tour shows seated due to his health

Peter Frampton has revealed he will perform the rest of his farewell tour seated as a result of his ongoing health issues.

While in conversation with Classic Rock, the electric guitar hero discussed how his playing and performances have been affected by his battle with inclusion body myositis (IBM) – a progressive degenerative disease that weakens the legs, arms, wrists and fingers.

According to Frampton, the disease has worsened in recent times, and has particularly affected his ability to stand on stage with a guitar.

As such, he has elected to perform the final European dates of his farewell tour sat down, as he says it is too “dangerous” for him to stand with a guitar for long periods 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,” Frampton replied when asked about his IBM. “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].” 

Of how the disease is affecting his ability to actually play the guitar, Frampton continued, “It’s starting to affect my hands, but not enough yet, so I can still play a good lick. 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.”

The move from standing to seated has already taken place, with Frampton going on to reveal he recently performed sat down “for the first time ever on stage” during Buddy Holly’s 85th Birthday Celebration event.

“Well, I sat down for the first time ever on stage,” he continued. “And… it felt very comfortable [laughs]. Better than leaning on a piano. It was me, Steve Cropper, Albert Lee, Duane Eddy, a few others.”

Frampton was first diagnosed with IBM in 2017 after falling twice on stage, and later revealed his condition in 2019 when he announced he would be embarking on a farewell tour that year.

The tour was halted halfway through due to the pandemic, though is scheduled to continue this November for a string of European dates – a run of shows that will mark Frampton’s last-ever live performances.

“The American-Canadian portion was the most moving tour I’ve ever done,” Frampton reflected. “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.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the guitarist also revealed he is currently in the process of putting together a documentary that will chart his prolific career.

“We are in the process of making a documentary,” he revealed. “Covid messed with us, obviously. 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. 

“I haven’t been approached to do a biopic. I think it’s a story that’s been told before. But I might be wrong. If they ever do, I hope that Cameron [Crowe] would direct it. He knows me so well.”

Frampton’s farewell tour will pick up on November 5 at Stoke-on-Trent, England, and will conclude on November 16 at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Dusseldorf, Germany. He is also slated for an appearance at Joe Satriani’s G4 V6.0 next January.

For a full list of dates, visit Peter Frampton’s website.

To read Classic Rock's full interview with Frampton, head over to Magazines Direct.