'HAVEN'T PLAYED A NOTE': U.K. rock band robbed at gunpoint in California on first day of U.S. tour
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Welcome to America! (Not.)
The British band Sports Team has revealed they were robbed on Day 1 of their U.S. tour.
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'HAVEN'T PLAYED A NOTE': U.K. rock band robbed at gunpoint in California on first day of U.S. tour Back to video
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The five members of the group — frontman Alex Rice, guitarists Rob Knaggs and Henry Young, drummer Al Greenwood, keyboardist Ben Mack and bassist Oli Dewdney — were in California when they stopped for breakfast at a Vallejo Starbucks on Tuesday morning, ahead of their Sacramento stop about an hour away.
That’s when they saw their van being ransacked by a group of armed men.
“Just been robbed at gunpoint 10 minutes into the US tour,” the London-based band shared on their Instagram account.
The band’s tour manager is seen near the men, who pulled “out a gun,” according to the caption to the video post that was filmed from inside the gas station.
“Man runs in saying some guys are smashing into a van,” they continued, alongside footage of the robbery. “Ran out to try to stop it and find masked guys ransacking the van.”
Aside from losing their Nintendo Switches and some other “personal gear,” including laptops, headphones and cameras, the crooks didn’t steal their instruments, so the tour will continue despite the incident.
Rice told Sky News someone alerted them to their van being robbed outside.
“Natural reaction, you sprint towards it and try to stop it, and immediately [one of the robbers] pulls a gun,” the singer told the outlet. “He pulls a gun, he sort of points it at our tour manager Lauren, there’s another guy loading stuff out and a third guy in a getaway car.”
He added: “So, haven’t played a note yet, one minute in, we’ve got our stuff taken.”
They also realized that three of them had their passports taken, so that was another concern.
“It’s a ‘try to get to the consulate and get that sorted for Christmas’ sort of situation,” Rice said.
He noted that the “really shocking bit” was cops’ reaction, who advised them to “submit a report online.”
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“That’s been the saddest bit to see, the level of resignation, the fact that people take this in their stride now,” Rice said.
Sports Team’s debut album Deep Down Happy was nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2020, while their 2022 follow-up Gulp! reached No. 3 in the charts, according to Sky News.
The band is currently promoting their upcoming third album, Boys These Days.
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