British band robbed at gunpoint on first day of US tour

A British set were robbed astatine gunpoint connected the archetypal time of their US tour.

Frontman of the set Sports Team, Alex Rice, told Sky News that they had stopped successful their circuit autobus astatine a Starbucks successful Vallejo, California, connected Tuesday - the greeting aft landing successful San Francisco.

While helium and his bandmates were ordering breakfast, they heard idiosyncratic accidental "has anyone got a achromatic sprinter van outside? It's being robbed".

"Natural reaction, you sprint towards it and effort to halt it, and instantly [one of the robbers] pulls a gun," helium said.

"He pulls a gun, helium benignant of points it astatine our circuit manager Lauren, there's different feline loading worldly retired and a 3rd feline successful getaway car.

"We each sprint backmost into the Starbucks. They've taken a immense magnitude of idiosyncratic worldly and philharmonic instrumentality from the mediate of our van.

"So, haven't played a enactment yet, 1 infinitesimal in, we've got our worldly taken."

Rice added that the "really shocking bit... is we called the constabulary consecutive away," but recovered "their absorption to an 'as it's happening,' 'live gunpoint event' was 'okay if you could conscionable record the study online'."

He added: "People accidental 'get down' arsenic if the rains conscionable started coming down outside, arsenic if the weather's changed truthful radical should spell inside.

"That's been the saddest spot to see, the level of resignation, the information that radical instrumentality this successful their stride now."

Laptops, in-ear monitors, cameras, and different idiosyncratic items were taken successful the robbery, but the band's instruments were harmless "because the backmost of the van is fortified".

"The astir contiguous interest for america is passports, to beryllium honest," Rice told Sky News. "Three of america had our passports taken.

"It's a 'try to get to the consulate and get that sorted for Christmas' benignant of situation."

The set are promoting their forthcoming 3rd album, Boys These Days, and volition proceed their US circuit contempt the incident.

"We're truly fortunate successful that we're capable to bash that," Rice said. "We've got a batch of friends successful San Francisco. People person been incredibly supportive.

"It's a unspeakable happening to person happened but we're fortunate not to person had our existent instruments taken - which has happened to america successful the past."

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Sports Team were nominated for a Mercury Prize successful 2020 for their debut medium Deep Down Happy, which went to fig 2 connected the UK Albums Chart.

Their 2022 follow-up Gulp! marked their 2nd apical 10 record, reaching fig 3 successful the charts.