How Peter Frampton’s New Documentary Finally Came Alive

Peter Frampton has had an incredible career, without question. It's a story that's finally being told in a new way, thanks to Frampton, the documentary that premieres tonight (June 4) with an initial screening at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Keyboardist Rob Arthur, also Frampton's bandleader, has been part of the journey for the past couple of decades which afforded him a unique both on and off of the concert stage. He gained even more perspective as the director for the new film.

Those duties meant he took on the monumental task of capturing the depth and scope of Frampton's career. In addition to his massive solo success, the guitarist enjoyed additional waves of popularity with his early band, the Herd and also, later, Humble Pie, before leaving the latter group to strike out on his own in the early part of the '70s.

"I set out to do a road documentary, you know, this is us on the road, this is what we do, and here's some footage of us playing and here's us backstage," Arthur details in a conversation with UCR, when talking about how the film initially began taking shape,

What to Expect From 'Frampton'

Working with writer and journalist Ralph Chapman to craft the narrative, the pair would eventually take a different path to arrive at what we're now seeing on the big screen. "It became clear the more Peter talked on camera, it [should be] more about his whole life," he explains. "Also, we had sold the idea for the film just before COVID, and then, because COVID hit, everything went on the shelf."

The pandemic put them back to square one in a sense, and they had to find a new partner to help bring the documentary to market. But Arthur says that ended up being a blessing in disguise. "I think Ken Levitan [Frampton's longtime manager] was the one who said, 'Let's make this a career retrospective.' So now we have a format [where] we're going to show all the stuff that went on in his life and punctuate it with this road footage. I learned a ton more about his personal life through interviews [with friends and associates] and just talking with Peter."

Watch the 'Frampton' Documentary Trailer

Going Back to the Beginning

Frampton covers the glory years, of course, giving generous amounts of time to the mammoth explosion of his Frampton Comes Alive album and milestones like getting to play on dream projects like George Harrison's landmark All Things Must Pass.

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But it also covers the aftermath, the struggle --  and the helping hand he received from David Bowie that ultimately was a big factor in him being able to carry on, an important boost that fueled the possibilities for his current ongoing career renaissance

Arthur got to see firsthand what Frampton's childhood and teenage days looked like, thanks to a visit to the area where the guitarist first came to know the future Thin White Duke.

"We went back to Bromley, where his dad was teaching [back then] and he went to school with Bowie. Just him being in that environment, of course, it brings up stories that you forgot all these years," he details. "'Oh man, we were right here. This is where we used to sit, and we used to do this.'"

"I mean, you're talking about [how] you were hanging out in high school with Bowie and jamming on the steps right here," he adds. "Just to be in that with him and have him reminisce about [how] there's the place where David gave me my first job, you know, [things like that were important].

"It takes going there and smelling the environment and being back there [for that to happen]," he explains. "Even being on the train with him -- we took the train on purpose, because he says 'This is the only way I would get to London was on this train.' We could take a limo to the site, but he wanted to go on the train, like he used to do. It was really fun to watch him reminisce and learn so much more about his childhood."

Rob Arthur and Peter Frampton in the Studio

Peter Frampton's New Album

Frampton arrives as the guitar legend is celebrating the arrival of his first new studio album of original material in over 15 years, Carry the Light. He wrote a lot of the songs with his son and longtime collaborator, Julian, who also helped to produce the collection.

The record was released last month and features collaborations with Graham Nash, Sheryl Crow, Benmont Tench and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello on the current single, "Lions at the Gate."

"It was the very first track that I recorded for this album, at least four or five years ago and it was just a trio of us," Frampton told UCR in an interview leading up to the release of Carry the Light. "I just had this riff, but I'd written it on a baritone guitar, so it was halfway between a bass and a guitar, you know -- and I'd even tuned it further down, so it was even more halfway between a bass and a guitar."

"And I just got inspired, because if you stick that through a dirty sounding big amp and maybe [add] a little bit of distortion on it, that thing sounds humongous," he shares. "All of a sudden, you're [Cream bassist] Jack Bruce, with the really distorted bass lines and everything. All of that inspired the riff where I began to write 'Lions at the Gate.'"