In a recent interview on the ‘XS Noize’ podcast, Peter Frampton recently opened up about the significant influence an artist had on his life and career.
Following his appearance on the ‘Rave’ magazine cover in 1968 as ‘The Face of 1968,’ his reputation as a blues-based guitar player was somewhat overshadowed. Frampton stated:
“As a guitar player, I kind of lost a little bit of my reputation as a guitar player due to ‘The Face [of 1968],’ the front [of teenage magazine] covers, the screaming girls, and all that.”
As Frampton recalled, it was David Bowie who redirected the spotlight back to Frampton’s skills as a guitarist, providing him a platform to regain his standing in the music industry:
“So what David did was give me this incredible gift of bringing me back and saying, ‘Look, yeah, forget all that. This is what he is. He’s a guitar player.’ And I thank him at least once a day. I miss him terribly, like we all do.”
Both Frampton and Bowie share a history that traces back to their school days at Bromley Technical School, where they formed a bond over music. Their paths crossed in the music scene multiple times. Their school bands, the Little Ravens with Frampton and George and the Dragons with Bowie, even played on the same bill.
However, it was their collaboration in the late 1980s that stands out. Frampton recorded guitar for Bowie’s 1987 record ‘Never Let Me Down’ and continued his collaboration during its subsequent tour. In the same interview, he recalled the following about performing with Bowie:
“We went to school together, so to finally be on the same stage at the same time — we’d been on the same stage the same evening, but not at the same time — and to actually play with David after all that time, being friends, that was probably one of the most special things that I’ve been asked to do by my buddy.”
In recent times, health challenges forced Frampton to perform sitting down, since ‘Buddy Holly’s 85th Birthday Celebration’ in Lubbock, Texas, in 2022.
This year, Frampton embarked on his ‘Never Say Never’ tour. In August, he extended the tour with November dates, for which you can get your tickets here.
Listen to the rest of the interview below.
