Organizational problems inevitably pop up when a band is as big as Belle & Sebastian hits the road.
The beloved indie-rock band is currently at seven members but has in the past had upwards of 10 members performing on 1998’s The Boy With the Arab Strap. And, apparently, head counts or the buddy system weren’t in effect when they left drummer Richard Colburn behind at a rest stop in North Dakota on Monday.
So, what did his bandmates do? They tweeted about it:
Shit, we left Richard in North Dakota. Anyone want to be a hero and get him to St Paul, Minnesota somehow. The gig hangs in the balance..–
— stuart murdoch (@nee_massey) August 15, 2017
Turns out Colburn wound up sitting around a Walmart for four hours without a phone or identification and eventually checked into a hotel for the night, as band leader Stuart Murdoch told The Current. The next day, with some help, Colburn was on his way to Tuesday’s (Aug. 15) show in St. Paul, Minnesota, surely with a good story to tell.
UPDATE: we’re getting him in a car to Bismarck, a flight to Minneapolis. we should be ok for tonight. —
— stuart murdoch (@nee_massey) August 15, 2017
Thanks for your help folks. We have Richard on a plane now, so everything is ok. He’s in his pyjamas, sitting with a mimosa —-
— stuart murdoch (@nee_massey) August 15, 2017