PETER FRAMPTON

Born in Beckenham, England, Peter first became interested in music as a seven-year old, mastering the guitar by age 10 and playing in a band called The Little Ravens, which 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.  Peter and David spent time together at lunch breaks, playing Buddy Holly songs. At age 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 and 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, 19 year old Peter formed Humble Pie with ex-Small Faces singer and guitarist Steve Marriott. Five albums later, he left Humble Pie to go solo in 1971, just in time to see Rockin' The Fillmore chase up the US charts. Without regret, he spent the next 5 years writing, recording and touring, as well as guesting on other artists' records ( Nilsson, George Harrison, etc). Signed to A&M, he began to build a solid fan base with his first 3 albums Wind Of Change (1971), Frampton's Camel (1973) and Somethin's Happening (1974). In 1975, the release of Frampton gave the world a taste of what was to come. The album went to #32 in the US charts and went gold. This was followed up in 1976 with the very successful live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, recorded at San Francisco's famed Winterland. The resulting publicity and multi-million dollar grossing tour made Peter Frampton an international superstar and launched 3 hit 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. 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.

Peter released I'm In You in 1977, seeing the album and same titled single reach platinum and #1 respectively and in 1978, he appeared in the movie version of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, alongside The Bee Gees, in the role of Billy Shears. The successful soundtrack reached #5 in the album charts, going platinum. Peter appears on the album, performing Beatles tunes alongside people like George Burns!

A near fatal car crash in 1978 in the Bahamas left Peter with a concussion, muscle damage and broken bones. After a recuperative period, he released the album Where I Should Be in 1979, which went gold and produced the hit 'I Can't Stand It No More'. Peter continued to release albums on a semi-annual basis throughout the 80s and in 1987, was invited by David Bowie to play lead guitar on the latter's Glass Spider World Tour. After the tour, Peter moved to Los Angeles and started writing and recording at home. These songs became the the basis for 1989's When All The Pieces Fit album.

The new millenium found Peter involved in a wide array of projects, among them - working with Gibson Guitar to create the Peter Frampton Signature Les Paul Guitar; starting his own company, Framptone, to create and build high-end handmade accessories for musicians; recording 2 songs for Walt Disney Recoreds' Tigger Mania.  He released his first live DVD, 'Live in Detroit', recorded at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in the summer of 1999 - the first concert DVD to be released in High Definition TV format and 5.1 surround sound. Released on both VHS and CD, it featured 2 new songs as well as several of his greatest hits. His performance of 'Off The Hook' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2001. He toured nationwide and appeared on many televisions shows, and VH1 premiered 'Peter Frampton: Behind the Music'.

Peter also returned to the big screen in Cameron Crowe's semi autobiographical movie 'Almost Famous'. The film, starring Jason Lee, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, and Frances McDormand, received high praise. Peter's cameo role in the film as  road manager for Humble Pie was a small part of his total contribution. His role as 'authenticity advisor' played an even more important part. Peter helped Billy Crudup learn to play guitar. He gave Billy and Jason Lee invaluable insight into performing so they could really act like rock stars of that time. A favorite memory is that Billy Crudup, who had never picked up a guitar before, now he plays everyday. Peter made sure the equipment seen on stage was actual 70s gear; helped call camera shots during the concert sequences, helping the cameramen get the best shots and, of course, wrote music for the film.

Universal remastered and re-released 4 of Peter's solo albums from the 1970s on compact disc for the first time: Wind of Change, Frampton's Camel, Somethin's Happening, and I'm In You. An additional 70s solo album, Frampton, was remastered and re-released as well. Not wanting to be left out, Sony/Legacy re-released Peter Frampton. Universal also later released Frampton Comes Alive: The 25th Anniversary Special Edition. The legendary album had been remixed, remastered and resequenced, with 4 songs added. This was an arduous process, as the original tapes had begun to deteriorate, but well worth it. The album still features the original liner notes from Cameron Crowe, but also an extensive new essay by John McDermott as well as additional photos from Peter’s private collection. Soon after, Peter performed in New York City for the first time in years, receiving rave reviews from Newsday and other publications.

One special event that took place in April 2001 was the Steve Marriott Memorial Concert in London. The sold out concert marked the 10th anniversary of Steve's tragic death and featured a Humble Pie reunion with Peter, Clem Clemson, Greg Ridley, and Jerry Shirley. The show also featured Midge Ure, Paul Weller, former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones and keyboard player Ian McIagan, and others. Peter had a great time catching up with old friends and playing with these talented musicians.

Other notable highlights are the premier of A&E's Biography: Peter Frampton an  informative and in-depth spotlight on his life and career, featuring interviews with family and band members, and his pals David Bowie, Bill Wyman and Alice Cooper; the release of Anthology/The History of Peter Frampton, a 16-track CD tracing his musical career, starting with “From The Underworld” by The Herd, 5 songs with Humble Pie (including a live version of “I Don’t Need No Doctor”), and 10 solo tracks; TV appearances on shows such as Family Guy and The Drew Carey Show; and many benefit concerts for many worthy causes.

Peter has also toured throughout the new century to rave reviews and shows few signs of slowing down.   On June 19, 2005, Peter performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City at "All for Paul - Les Paul's 90th Birthday Salute."  Having also  contributed a track to the CD in honor of the event, Peter couldn't resist being involved in the birthday celebrations of one of his biggest influences.

Peter's show is not one you want to miss.  As one reviewer has said: "Frampton's sound is a timeless one ..."

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