NEED TO KNOW
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Peter Frampton has revealed that Pete Townshend once offered him a place in The Who on tour, but he never took it up.
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Frampton told PEOPLE that they are now "good friends," despite being upset by the situation.
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In his new documentary,« Frampton"» talks about his career, personal life, and diagnosis of inclusion body myositis.
Peter Frampton was dropped from his record label and his career looked uncertain when rocker Pete Townshend called him and offered to save him.
Townshend wanted to know if Frampton would be interested in taking his place on tour with The Who – and while Frampton was thrilled with the idea, the collaboration never happened, he says in the new documentary. «Frampton» , which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, June 4.
The 76-year-old singer, who performed the hit "Baby, I Love Your Way," spoke in the documentary about his conversation with Townshend and how the star called with the idea, but ultimately simply stopped answering Frampton's calls, which left him very upset.
«He said, „I’ve got an idea. I don’t want to tour anymore, but I still want to write songs and be in The Who, and I’m going to write my own songs. I wonder what you’d think if you took my place in The Who on tour?“„ he recalled. “I said, „Really? Have you talked to Roger [Daltry] and John [Entwistle] about it?“ He said, »No, but I’ll talk to them about it tomorrow.’”.
Peter Frampton. Photo: Neil Preston/Courtesy of 10 Lives Studios.
Frampton said he persuaded Townshend, now 81, to talk to his bandmates and then call him back - but he never did.
After a week of waiting for a call, Frampton said he became "unbearable to live with," and after three weeks he was "so frustrated" that he took matters into his own hands.
«"It took me about five or six calls… and I found him in the studio. All he could say was, 'Hi, Pete.' I said, 'You never called me back, I'm not doing well in my career,'" Frampton recalled. "I scolded him because, 'You've abandoned me.' I was so upset that I had everything in my possession, and now it was gone.".
At the time, Frampton's popularity was waning, and he found himself in financial trouble. He ended up borrowing $100,000 from Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun, but things finally turned around in 1987 when his old school friend David Bowie invited him to join his Glass Spider tour.
Frampton subsequently credited the late Bowie with reviving his career, which is still thriving 60 years later; Frampton released his final album on May 15 Carry the Light .
Peter Frampton. Photo: Clive Frampton/Courtesy of 10 Lives Studios.
The "Show Me the Way" singer told PEOPLE that he also developed a relationship with Townshend and now considers them "good friends.".
According to him, several years later they reconciled at a Bruce Springsteen concert at Madison Square Garden.
«"I saw Pete talking to Bruce before he came on for the second half, so I just went over and stood next to Pete," Frampton says. "He suddenly realized there was someone standing next to him, looking at him, staring, and he looked back, smiled, and kissed me on the top of my head. And so we're friends now.".
And Daltrey is doing well too, as The Who's lead singer inducted Frampton into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.
Frampton's documentary, which chronicles the star's rise to fame, his personal life, and his diagnosis with inclusion body myositis (IBM), is directed by his longtime bandleader, keyboardist, and vocalist Rob Arthur.
Read the original article on People.