Peter Frampton Reveals Muscular Disorder Diagnosis As He Announces Farewell Tour

Laura Roberts / Invision / AP – Peter Frampton
“All For The Hall Benefit,” Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.

Peter Frampton revealed, a day after announcing a farewell tour, that he has been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Inclusion Body Myositis – a progressive muscle disorder characterized by muscle inflammation, weakness, and atrophy.

He told CBS “This Morning: Saturday” about the IBM diagnosis during an interview in which he explained his decision to retire while at “the top of his game,” according to a statement.

“I’m a perfectionist and I do not want to go out there and feel like, ‘Oh I can’t, this isn’t good.’ That would be a nightmare for me,” he told interviewer Anthony Mason. “It’s my passion, I’ve been playing guitar for 60 years. Started when I was eight and now I’m 68. So, I’ve had a very good run.”

He adds, “The reason I’m calling it the ‘farewell tour,’ again, is because I know that I will be at the top of my game for this tour and I will make it through this and people won’t be saying, ‘Oh you know, he can’t play as good.’ I can. But we just don’t know for how long.”

Frampton recently performed as part of the “I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell” tribute to the late Soundgarden frontman and received the Les Paul Innovation Award at NAMM’s TEC Awards.

Frampton has a long, illustrious career as a member of Humble Pie before going solo and releasing Frampton Comes Alive, one of the defining live albums of the mid-1970s.

He’s continued to be a touring force long after his superstar years, over the last three years averaging 3,289 tickets sold for an average gross of $191,066 reported to Pollstar.