Legendary singer David Bowie had once saved rock musician Peter Frampton from a smoke-filled plane cabin just before take-off.

This happened during the 1987 Glass Spider world tour, reports mirror.co.uk.

Frampton, 69, said: "On that tour we had private planes, and on one flight smoke started coming out of the vents.

"Dave stands up and goes, 'Smoke! Smoke!' So the pilot stops and the flight attendant pulls the back stairway down.

"I'm in my seat and Dave literally lifts me out of my seat and carries me down the chute. I'll never forget that.

"He could have run out, but he wanted to make sure I was okay. That was the kind of guy he was with me, and in general. He was a lovely man."

The two first met as teenagers at school in Bromley, South East London, where Frampton's father was a teacher. And Bowie never forgot his old mate.

The guitarist tells in his memoir, which is expected to be out in October, how Bowie had already saved him once simply by picking him for the tour as he was broke.

He was going through a rough phase despite his 1976 hit album "Frampton Comes Alive!" doing well.

Frampton said: "David saw I'd become this fallen pop idol. So what could he do for me? Take me around the world and reintroduce me as a musician."