A British band have been robbed at gunpoint on the primary day of their US tour.
Whereas he and his bandmates have been ordering breakfast, they heard somebody say “has anyone got a white sprinter van outside? It’s being robbed”.
“Natural reaction, you sprint towards it and try to stop it, and immediately [one of the robbers] pulls a gun,” he mentioned.
“He pulls a gun, he kind of factors it at our tour supervisor Lauren, there’s one other man loading stuff out and a 3rd man in a getaway automotive.
“We all sprint back into the Starbucks. They’ve taken a huge amount of personal stuff and musical equipment from the middle of our van.
“So, have not performed a notice but, one minute in, we have our stuff taken.”
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The band had laptops, in-ear screens, cameras and different private gadgets taken. Pic: Sports activities Workforce
Rice added that the “really shocking bit… is we called the police straight away” however discovered “their reaction to an ‘as it’s happening live gunpoint event’ was ‘okay, if you could just file the report online’.”
He added: “Folks say ‘get down’ as if the rain’s simply began coming down outdoors, as if the climate’s modified so individuals ought to go inside.
“That’s been the saddest bit to see, the level of resignation, the fact that people take this in their stride now.”
Laptops, in-ear screens, cameras, and different private gadgets have been taken within the theft, however the band’s devices have been protected “because the back of the van is fortified”.
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Alex Rice advised Sky Information the band’s devices have been protected – which means they will maintain touring. Pic: Sports activities Workforce
“It’s a ‘try to get to the consulate and get that sorted for Christmas’ sort of situation.”
The band are selling their forthcoming third album, Boys These Days, and can proceed their US tour regardless of the incident.
“We’re really lucky in that we’re able to do that,” Rice mentioned. “We’ve got a lot of friends in San Francisco. People have been incredibly supportive.
“It is a horrible factor to have occurred however we’re fortunate to not have had our precise devices taken – which has occurred to us prior to now.”
Sports activities Workforce have been nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2020 for his or her debut album Deep Down Blissful, which went to quantity two on the UK Albums Chart.
Their 2022 follow-up Gulp! marked their second high 10 file, reaching quantity three within the charts.
