Stereophonics Involved In Vancouver Police Chase

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Sep 23, 2008

Welsh rock outfit Stereophonics were involved in a high-speed chase with Vancouver police over the weekend after the band’s tour bus ignored calls by police to pull over.

According to the CBC, the two-mile chase ensued when the group were heading to the U.S. at 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Police repeatedly tried to stop the Stereophonics’ vehicle, but the driver refused to pull over, causing police to give chase.

The band finally pulled to the side of the road near the U.S./Canada border, where border guards conducted a lengthy search of the bus and reportedly ripped the vehicle apart.

"We got stopped and searched, the bus was searched and we had to unload the trailer,” front-man Kelly Jones told the CBC.

Making matters worse for the group, they made the bonehead move of telling officials they were friends with a notorious Welsh drug smuggler. "One of the guards started talking about a guy who used to smuggle drugs through bands’ equipment,” said Jones. "I said, ‘Are you talking about Howard Marks? He’s my friend.’ You can imagine the rest.”

The band were held up by the border for a good three hours before police finally told them why they were being forced to pull over — because they had been illegally parked.

Stereophonics are now on their way back to the UK where they are set to play several December tour dates.

Stereophonics "Dakota”

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