Peter Frampton: Illness Means This Is 'Farewell Tour'

He has rare muscular disease called IBM that will sap his ability to play guitar
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2019 6:45 AM CST
Peter Frampton: Illness Means This Is My Last Tour
Peter Frampton attends the 2017 Ripple of Hope Awards at the New York Hilton on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in New York.   (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Peter Frampton fans may want to check out the musician's upcoming tour because Frampton says it must be his last. The 68-year-old has a rare muscular disease called inclusion body myositis that will eventually make playing the guitar at his current level impossible, he tells CBS. "It's not life-threatening, it's life-changing," says Frampton. "What will happen, unfortunately, is that it affects the finger flexors," he says. "So for a guitar player, it's not very good."

Frampton previously spoke to Rolling Stone about the ailment, noting that he and his band have been "recording like maniacs" since October—playing while he still can. The diagnosis actually came about four years ago, when he tried to kick a beach ball on stage and fell. "My legs just gave out," he recalls. When the tour ends, Frampton isn't necessarily done playing professionally, though he doesn't expect any more extended tours. "If this is the farewell tour, then maybe if the drug trial works, there'll be the miracle tour," he says. "I wish but I'm realistic, too, so that's why we're really—this really is the farewell tour." (More Peter Frampton stories.)

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