Peter Frampton is unsure whether he'll ever tour again. The pandemic forced the 71-year-old guitarist to cancel a major European trek, which he might not be able to make up to his fans. Frampton was forced to wind down his road dates upon discovering he's suffering from a degenerative muscle disease called Inclusion-Body Myositus (IBM), that slowly weakens the body's muscles.
Frampton, who recently released his critically acclaimed new instrumental set, Frampton Forgets The Words, told The Washington Post, “I would love to go back on the road. But it all depends. I’m doing okay right now, but it’s definitely not as good as the last time I toured. I’ve learned that I prefer to play, put more soul into less notes and to experiment that way.”
Frampton who currently has three albums in the can in varying states of completion, went on to say, “That was the reason I wanted to record so much in a short space of time because I didn’t know. Two years ago, when we did the recordings, I was feeling pretty good. But over the last couple of years, things are not as good anymore, unfortunately, especially my legs. It’s now starting to affect my hands. But two years ago, I was still at the top of my game. Right now, I don’t know where I am.”
In 2019 Peter Frampton appeared on Good Morning Britain and spoke about the frustration of living with IBM: “It picks its muscles, unfortunately. Because of it going down my arms, it affects — will affect my hands. It's starting to a little tiny bit — but it's not affecting my playing at the moment.”
While talking to CBS, Peter Frampton shed light on some of the physical difficulties he faces these days: “Inclusion-Body Myositus, which is what I have. . . going up (laughs) stairs and downstairs is the hardest thing for me. I'm going to have to get a cane. Then, the other thing I noticed — I can't put things over my head.”
