'They can't take our ability to play rock songs': British indie band Sports Team robbed at gunpoint on first day of US tour
4 December 2024, 07:25 | Updated: 4 December 2024, 07:51
A renowned British band have been robbed at gunpoint on first day of their US tour - with the thieves making off with armfuls of tour equipment.
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The indie band said they "haven't played a note yet" since arriving in the US to kick off the tour, with a gunman raided the van in a parking lot, pointing a weapon at the band, as a getaway driver waited nearby.
The band said they had lost their passports, stage equipment and personal belongings during the robbery, after the vehicle was looted in the Californian city of Vallejo.
Best known for their two Top 10 hits 'Deep Down Happy' and 'Gulp', the alternative group were poised to kick off the tour to promote their forthcoming third album.
Footage shot by the band and uploaded to instagram shows the robbery taking place, as bandmates and tour crew took shelter as guns were pointed in their direction.
The band had stopped to pickup breakfast when they heard someone in the restaurant say: "Has anyone got a white sprinter van outside? It's being robbed".
The group recalled how they ran out of the Starbucks they were in and made a bee-line for the van.
"Natural reaction, you sprint towards it and try to stop it, and immediately [one of the robbers] pulls a gun," frontman Alex Rice told Sky News.
"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.
"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, haven't played a note yet, one minute in, we've got our stuff taken."
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The band revealed a host of items have been taken by the thieves, with the band's instruments luckily locked in a separate compartment of the van that "is fortified".
Laptops, in-ear monitors, cameras, and other personal items were taken, the band confirmed.
In the accompanying caption, the band took fans through the incident, defiantly writing: "They can take our Nintendo Switches but they can never take our ability to play rock songs about motorways."
Explaining the band reported the incident to police as the gunpoint robbery was taking place, Alex said the "really shocking bit" was "their reaction".
Recounting the call, the musician said the police response was "okay, if you could just file the report online".
"People say 'get down' as if the rain's just started coming down outside, as if the weather's changed so people should go inside.
"That's been the saddest bit to see, the level of resignation, the fact that people take this in their stride now."
