http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=217080The long blond hair and sexy magazine covers that forged British rock star Peter Frampton 's image as a teen idol of the 1970s are gone. That's just fine with the recently naturalized U.S. citizen, who is pouring his passion into writing and performing new music — and becoming a political activist in America's heartland. Frampton, who said he was motivated to become an American citizen by the Sept. 11 attacks, also has become active in national politics.
He volunteered to perform at a private fund-raising concert in Cincinnati this summer for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and appeared on stage in Toledo, Ohio, recently with rock musicians Neil Young and Pearl Jam as part of the "Vote For Change" tour.
"I was pretty naive about American politics," he said, laughing about coming out of a grocery to find someone had removed the Kerry sticker from his car. "Now I have one inside my car window so no one can take it."
Frampton is scheduled to leave on Election Day for a tour of the United Kingdom, but said he won't leave until after he votes. "The last election showed us that every vote counts," he said.