Peter Frampton

Before he shot to solo superstardom in the mid-'70s, guitarist Peter Frampton was a British teen idol in the late '60s thanks to his work with the Herd and looks worthy of being named "Face of 1968" in several British magazines. The following year, Frampton joined ex-Small Faces 
front man Steve Marriott in Humble Pie, remaining for two years before departing for a solo career. After performing on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson, Frampton recorded his solo debut Wind of Change in 1972 and formed a backing band, Frampton's Camel, to support him on tour. Members included ex-Spooky Tooth drummer Mick Kellie, ex-Cochise keyboardist Mickey Gallagher, and former Bell and Arc bassist, Rick Wills. 

Frampton toured extensively for the next few years, but broke up Frampton's Camel in 1974, a year before his Frampton LP went gold. Recorded at San Francisco's Winterland, 1976's double album Frampton Comes Alive was a staggering success, selling over six million copies and becoming the biggest-selling live rock album ever at that time. It showcased Frampton's mastery of the talk-box guitar effect and his penchant for in-concert theatrics, and produced three hit singles ("Show Me the Way," "Baby, I Love Your Way," and "Do You Feel Like We Do"). 

The follow-up LP, I'm in You, produced Frampton's biggest hit in the title track, but his career was temporarily put on hold by a near-fatal car crash in the Bahamas in 1978. Frampton had made his acting debut as Billy Shears in that year's ill-received film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, directed by Robert Stigwood. 
Personal problems halted a full-scale comeback following Frampton's recovery; he recorded sporadically throughout the '80s, but none of these efforts caught fire with the public. He had been planning a Humble Pie reunion with Steve Marriott in 1991 when Marriott's home burned down, killing him. Nevertheless, Frampton released a self-titled album for Relativity in 1994, followed by Frampton Comes Alive II in 1995. 

Extended Bio:

Peter Frampton has been reveling in that "two hour event" since he became a professional musician at age 16. Born in Beckenham, England, Peter first became interested in music as a seven-year old, when he discovered his grandmother's banjolele (a banjo-shaped ukulele) in the attic. Teaching himself to play, he became near obsessed, and, upon receiving a guitar from his parents, mastered that as well. 

By the age of 10, Frampton was playing in a band called The Little Ravens and played on the same bill at school as George & The Dragons, a group including David Bowie, then a student of Peter's art teacher/ dad, Owen Frampton. In fact, Peter and David would spend time together at lunch breaks, playing Buddy Holly songs. At the age of 11, Peter was playing with a band called The Trubeats, before playing with a band called The Preachers, produced and managed by Bill Wyman, of the Rolling Stones. By 16, Peter had been recruited to be the lead guitarist/singer in The Herd, scoring a handful of British teenybopper hits. Peter was named "The Face 0f 1968" by the UK press - he was well on his way. 

By 1969, he had formed Humble Pie with ex-Small Faces singer/guitarist 
Steve Marriott. Peter was 19 years old. The original band stayed together for five albums. PF - "The great thing for me about Humble Pie was that it was energy unlimited. We were all at that age where we were just going for it. lt was the perfect band for me to develop and define the Frampton-style guitar. When everybody was listening to Blues Breakers and Cream for Eric Clapton, so was I. But at the same time I was listening to Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt. When it came to working my style out with Humble Pie, it was sort of a jazzy lyrical style that developed over a very rockin', blues based band. Just listen to 'Stone Cold Fever' from Humble Pie's 'Performance - Rockin' The Fillmore' album. We were on fire. We played with so many different people.....and I guess that playing Shea Stadium in the summer of '70, with Grand Funk, was one of the biggest thrills because we were actually the first band to play Shea Stadium since the Beatles. So it was pretty historic for us. " 

After five albums with Humble Pie, Frampton went solo in 1971, just in time to see 'Rockin' The Fillmore' chase up the US charts. But not regretting his decision to leave, the next five years were a period of writing, recording and touring, as well as guesting on many other artists records ( Nilsson, George Harrison to name two ). Signed to A&M, his first 3 albums were building the foundations of a solid fan base - 'Wind Of Change' in 1971, 'Frampton's Camel' in 1973 ( which featured Peter within a group project ) and 'Somethin's Happening' in 1974. Peter's live work did much to enhance his reputation and eventually the hard work paid off with the release in 1975 of 'Frampton', which gave the world a taste of what was yet to come. The album went to #32 in the US charts, and eventually went gold. 

PF - "My most prolific writing period was right before we recorded 'Frampton'. The whole album took only three weeks to write, and gave us 'Show Me The Way', which was written one day before lunch, and 'Baby I Love Your Way', which was written the same day after tea, as the sun was setting! 'Frampton' was the most satisfying album to date, as I felt I had a really good selection of songs." 

All this culminated in the astonishing success of 'Frampton Comes Alive!', a live album recorded at San Francisco's famed Winterland, and released in 1976. 
The concert was recorded, and the album went from a single album to a 
double when one of the record label's bosses, Jerry Moss (the 'M' in 
'A&M' Records) said "Where's the rest?"! The extra tracks put on to make 
it a double included Peter's two biggest hits. PF - "I remember it was 
one of the first nights we had ever headlined in San Francisco, or 
anywhere else for that matter. I wasn't worried about the (recording) 
truck being outside, I was worried that we had enough material to do an 
hour and a half act. It was a stretch at that point. We were used to 
doing 50 minutes. lt was a special night overall. Looking back, I like 
the vibe on 'Lines On My Face'. The feeling was magical for that song." 

The resulting publicity and multi-million-dollar grossing tour made 
Peter Frampton an international superstar and launched three singles, 
'Do You Feel Like We Do?', 'Baby I Love Your Way' and 'Show Me The Way' that exemplify the best of '70s rock, and remain radio play fixtures. 

In 1976, Frampton was named Rolling Stone Magazine's 'Artist of the 
Year' and received innumerable industry plaudits for album and concert 
sales. The album was the biggest selling live album in rock music 
history, selling an estimated 10 million copies. By the end of 1976, 
Peter had reportedly earned an estimated gross of $70 million in concert 
fees and royalties. To date, the album has sold over 16 million copies. 

The subsequent years were a challenge, both musically and personally. Although, he would have preferred a long break from the nonstop hubbub of '76, Peter nonetheless returned to the studio, and released 'I'm In You' in 1977, seeing the album and same-titled single reach platinum and #1 respectively. Guest musicians lined up to help out....Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder included. A version of Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours' was a single success. In 1978 Peter appeared in the movie version of The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', alongside the Bee Gees. He played the role of Billy Shears......sadly the movie was not received well, although it did give Peter another Rolling Stones magazine cover appearance! The soundtrack WAS successful though....it reached #5 in the album charts and went platinum! Peter appears on the album, performing Beatles tunes alongside people like George Burns! 

In 1978, Peter suffered a near fatal car crash in the Bahamas, which 
left him with a concussion, muscle damage and broken bones. But in 1979, he released the album 'Where I Should Be', which went gold and produced the hit 'I Can't Stand It No More'. 

Frampton continued to release albums on a semi-annual basis throughout 
the 80's. There was 'Breaking All The Rules' in 1981, 'Art Of Control' 
in 1982 and then a four year break from releasing albums was ended by 
the release of 'Premonition' in 1986. Looking back on his music of this 
time Frampton said: "I think that basically I wasn't on track. People forgot about me, the guitarist, my image became that of a singer/personality. Up until 'Frampton Comes Alive!' and the success of that, I'd always written for my own enjoyment. I wasn't thinking about what anybody else would want to hear from me. lt was what came out naturally. The pressure that 'Frampton Comes Alive!' brought to bear on me was that I started to second guess myself and think, 'I wonder what I should write?'. No artist can ever think about what anybody else wants. It's got to come 
from you. So for the first time in my life, I was starting to wonder what I should do instead of letting it happen. That was a mistake. The first sign that I was over it came with the song 'Lying', which is on the 2nd live record, 'Frampton Comes Alive II', released in 1995, and originally on the album 'Premonition', released in 1986. That one sort of wrote itself. I finally stopped thinking about it." 

In 1987, Frampton's career enjoyed a tremendous surge when he was invited by David Bowie to play lead guitar on the latter's Glass Spider World Tour. PF - "It was right after that period of writing 'Lying.' I went on the road to promote the 'Premonition' record. David Bowie called me on the road and asked me if I would play on the 'Never Let Me Down' record. He had heard the 'Premonition' record and said, 'My God, your guitar playing is great. Would you come and do some of that for me?' I said, 'Absolutely!'. I went to Switzerland for the 'Never Let Me Down' sessions. Then he asked me if I would go on the road with him. There was no pressure on that tour. In fact, I shied away from doing my backing vocals. I didn't really want to sing at all. So for the better part of a year, I was able to play whatever I felt like playing. I was a hired gun and it really reminded me of being in Humble Pie again. lt was a pretty raucous, flat out, straight ahead rock band, with a lot of energy. I'll be the first one to admit that I got a huge kick out of standing out there and playing the opening riff to 'Rebel Rebel'. From that, I'd be playing numbers that Stevie Ray Vaughn had played on. I wasn't going toattempt to play them like him, because that's not my style. But it was 
an honor to be considered to be able to cover all of those musical bases". 

Peter had competition for that lead-guitar spot from Carlos Alomar, 
Bowie's faithful six-stringer who solos on 'Fashion' and 'Scary Monsters'. Frampton isn't used to sharing the stage with any guitarist, lead or otherwise. PF - "But I think we were incredibly compatible for two completely different styles." 

It also helped that Richard Cottle, one of Bowie's keyboardists, played 
on Frampton's 'Premonition' and toured with him in 1986 and 1998; and 
bassist Carmine Rojas worked with Frampton on some unreleased songs from the 'Premonition' sessions. 

As for David Bowie himself, Frampton admits.... "We've never been this close before. But he's exactly the same as the fifteen-year-old that I knew back at Bromley Tech. I find us very similar in many ways. We come from the same town, we almost sound alike when we talk - talking to him on the phone is like talking to myself. He's just a very easy-going guy who knows what he wants." 

After the tour was over, Peter moved to Los Angeles and started writing 
and recording at home. These songs became the basis for the 'When All The Pieces Fit' album, released in 1989. ( The previous year, the Florida based band Will To Power had a US #1 hit with a version of Peter's 'Baby I Love Your Way', couple with 'Freebird' as a medley - it also reached #9 in the UK charts ). 

In late 1990, Peter contacted his old friend Steve Marriott and began a musical collaboration with him that seemed to have great potential. Sadly, the project was doomed, as Steve was tragically killed in a fire at his home in April 1991. By this time, Peter had co-written 4 songs with Steve, and recorded 3 of them in LA, rehearsing a band to go out and play. This was the first time they had worked together since 1971, 
and Peter had even jammed with Steve at a small pub in London. 

PF - "We were very close, and we were working together right up until the time he died. We were not going to redo Humble Pie, but this was gonna be a Peter Frampton/Steve Marriot, Steve Marriot/Peter Frampton project. But the good thing is we did get to write and work and record together, and you can actually hear them on CDs I put out. There's three songs on three different CDs. But, here I was with a partner again, feeling that I was back on track and all of a sudden, he's gone. It was 
another reason I felt I had to go back on the road". 

And he did, this time concentrating on small clubs and venues, in an effort to return to his roots and stay close to the audience. What was to be six weeks turned into seven months, ultimately growing from clubs - breaking the attendance record at New York's Ritz - to playing 15,000 seat amphitheaters in other cities. PF - "It was phenomenal, especially since I didn't even have a new album to promote". 

In 1994, Peter released a self-titled album on Relativity Records, and 
once again hit the road to support it. The classic guitar work, crisp and melodic, combined with his trademark pop sensibility with a rock song, were evident throughout. Then, in 1995, Peter decided to release another live album. For this album, Frampton Comes Alive II, the band of Bob Mayo (also on Frampton Comes Alive!) on keyboard, guitar and vocals, John Regan on bass, and John Robinson (J.R.) on drums, rehearsed for three weeks for a road trip all geared to the last three nights of recording. 

PF - "We recorded all three nights, but we filmed just the second one. We didn't talk about it, but we all mentally geared ourselves to this one night which had to be great. It happened to be. Also, Frampton Comes Alive II had to be recorded in San Francisco! That town picked up on me before everybody else. That was the reason the first one was done there. There is a special feeling that an San Francisco. audience gives you. It's always going to be great in San Francisco. Of course, nothing is ever perfect. That's the excitement about it. Whether you've come 800 miles, or from your home, down to the local gig, whatever it is, the whole day is taken up with getting ready for this one two hour event." 

In 1997, he played on Bill Wyman's CD, 'The Rhythm Kings: Struttin' Our Stuff'. Later that year, he and Wyman played together in Europe to promote the CD along with Gary Brooker, Albert Lee, Georgie Fame and Beverly Skeets. Plus there are many other recent projects - including concerts to benefit the aid work in Bosnia and other charity work, two tours with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band in 1997 and 1998, an appearance on VH-1's Hard Rock Live series, his 1998 tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd, an 
appearance on the Simpsons as himself, two songs he recorded for an 
upcoming Walt Disney Records project, Tigger Mania, writing music for and acting in the new Cameron Crowe movie, a collaboration with eMedia Guitar Method to support and endorse their guitar tuition program, producing singer/songwriter Eric Stuart, and a performance with the British Rock Symphony in New York City, with an upcoming tour of Australia planned for February 2000! 

PF - "To me now, success has a different meaning than before. I've been there, done that, and I'm very proud and grateful for the success, but basically the family always comes first now. Where before it was always "me, me, me, career, career, career", now as you get a little older, you have children, and I want to spend a little more time with them. So I'm not as driven as I was for success, success, success...to me I'm extremely successful right now. I've got a wonderful family and a great career. But that doesn't mean to say that I'm not gonna put out lots more albums and I plan on doing stuff. It started off as my hobby, music, playing guitar, and it always will be, no matter what...so I would just be doing things that I wanna do, as always, and if people pick up on it, that would be wonderful, if they don't, then I'm still 
enjoying myself." 

Peter Frampton remains hard working and attentive to the needs of his fan base - most kids growing up in the 70's grew up listening to Peter ( the actor Johnny Depp recently spoke of HIS Frampton addiction in his teenage years! ) and Peter is constantly out there, performing and bringing his music and talent to generations of fans.

Discography:

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