At the time, the career of the guitarist - who turns 74 today - was not experiencing a particularly happy moment, however, although he was naturally flattered by the proposal he received, he was not entirely convinced that it was a good idea to go on stage with Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle replacing Townshend.
During a creative and financial low point in his career, Townshend contacted him to say that he was leaving The Who – and to offer Frampton his place in the legendary rock band.
Speaking to The Guardian on Friday (October 16), Frampton described the offer as “the most bizarre thing I ever heard,” adding: “Three men couldn’t fill his shoes!”
"I receive this call from England, in which he tells me: 'I have decided that I will no longer tour with the Who. I will still write the songs, but I want you to take my place'... I said, 'Wait a minute, Pete. Did you talk to Roger or the others about this?' And he's like, 'Not yet, I'll talk to them about it tomorrow.' And I'm like, 'Okay, why don't you call me back when you've talked to them.'"
Frampton remembers telling his then-wife: "It doesn't convince me. It doesn't make much sense." Although he clearly considered the offer a great honor, "I would have loved to play with the Who, but with Pete in the band, not alone."
What Peter Frampton was experiencing was a truly unhappy period in his career: "After three weeks my wife said, 'For God's sake, call him!'" Frampton then called him: “I had to make him understand, you've put me in trouble for three weeks. (...) It hasn't been a good three weeks for me. He was very apologetic, saying, 'I'm sorry, I never should have done that.'"
A few months later the two met backstage at a Bruce Springsteen concert, but the thing was already fallen into oblivion, at least for Pete Townshend. “I love Pete very much,” Frampton explained. "I have no idea what was going on in his life at that time. I don't even know if he remembers calling me."
