Glasvegas Singer Missing

Hardrain · 09-09-2009 12:58pm #1

UK Times.

The lead singer of Glasvegas, the Mercury Prize nominees, has gone missing on the eve of band's American tour.
James Allan did not attend Tuesday night’s Mercury Prize ceremony at the Grosvenor Hotel in Central London, where his band had been due to perform, and was last seen by his fellow musicians on Friday at Glasgow airport.

Glasvegas are due to fly to Boston today to support the Kings of Leon on a US tour that opens at Uncasville, Connecticut tomorrow. Rab Allan, the band’s lead guitarist and the singer’s cousin said: “James, please get in touch.”
Mr Allan added: “He had been saying for ages that he needed a break. Everyone is panicking. We’re not supposed to talk about it. He has been working really, really hard and probably needs a break. If he doesn’t turn up for Kings of Leon, we will be really worried.”

The Mercury Prize celebrations were set to cap an astonishing year for the band. Glasvegas, from Glasgow, went straight to the top of the album charts when their self-titled debut was released last autumn. Last month they opened for U2 when they played to a sell-out crowd at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Jools Holland, who hosted the Mercury event, said that the band had cancelled because James Allan was unwell. Paul Donaghue, the band’s bass guitarist, said that the singer had not been seen since Glasvegas returned from a trip to Italy.

“James is missing in action. The last time we saw him was at [the] airport. The rest of us got in one taxi and that was the last we saw of him. He has gone missing before when he was on the dole. We think he is ill,” Mr Donaghue told the Daily Record.
“I hope James will get in touch soon because now we are flying to America. I’m hoping that if we don’t see him at the airport, we will see him in Boston,” Mr Donaghue added.

James Allan, 29, was formerly a footballer for Falkirk and Queen’s Park, in the Scottish league, before he helped found the band in 2006. His distinctive hairstyle, a rock’n’roller’s quiff, has brought comparisons to performers as diverse as Elvis Presley and Morrissey.
He wrote all the songs on Glasvegas’s album, which was widely praised for its kitchen-sink dramas about death, violence and social workers.
The album achieved one of the 12 Mercury nominations, impressing the judges with its “bittersweet sounds of classic rock’n’roll”, and “gloriously elegiac anthems of contemporary life”.

Miguel_Sanchez · 09-09-2009 1:30pm

The guy seemed to get very stressed out at times.

Hopefully he's alright.

Hardrain · 09-09-2009 3:24pm

James Allan has confirmed he is safe and well and in New York after going missing last week and failing to turn up with the rest of his bandmates to last night's (September 8) Barclaycard Mercury Prize ceremony.

The band's manager Dean Cunning confirmed that Allan telephoned him yesterday afternoon to explain his whereabouts, after discovering that people were concerned for his safety.

"James is not missing, he's in New York," Cunning told The Independent. "He got in touch with me yesterday at about 1.45pm to tell me he was OK because he knew people were worried, but to be honest I've been just as much in the dark about this as anybody – the last time I saw James was at the gig in Cardiff [supporting U2 at the Millennium Stadium on August 22]. I don't even know exactly when he went missing."

Speaking to NME.COM at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize yesterday, Glasvegas guitarist Rab Allan said he was concerned for the singer's welfare. "We did a festival in Italy and came back and the last I've seen of him was at the airport," he explained of the situation.

AssaultedPeanut · 09-09-2009 3:28pm

Just heard about this myself. I hope he turns up ok.

Though I did find a site with a "spokesperson" saying he isn't missing and is looking forward to the US dates etc.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23741871-details/'Missing'+lead+singer+of+Glasvegas+needed+a+break,+says+guitarist/article.do

This could be just to stop bad press and people looking for refunds...Hopefully not though

Miguel_Sanchez · 09-09-2009 3:28pm

Hardrain wrote:

James Allan has confirmed he is safe and well and in New York after going missing last week and failing to turn up with the rest of his bandmates to last night's (September 8) Barclaycard Mercury Prize ceremony.

The band's manager Dean Cunning confirmed that Allan telephoned him yesterday afternoon to explain his whereabouts, after discovering that people were concerned for his safety.

"James is not missing, he's in New York," Cunning told The Independent. "He got in touch with me yesterday at about 1.45pm to tell me he was OK because he knew people were worried, but to be honest I've been just as much in the dark about this as anybody – the last time I saw James was at the gig in Cardiff [supporting U2 at the Millennium Stadium on August 22]. I don't even know exactly when he went missing."

Speaking to NME.COM at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize yesterday, Glasvegas guitarist Rab Allan said he was concerned for the singer's welfare. "We did a festival in Italy and came back and the last I've seen of him was at the airport," he explained of the situation.

There you go. The lad probably went on a bender which is absolutely typical of him.

Bad form when the manager doesn't know where the lead singer is right before they set off on tour. Especially since he's related to him.