Road crash band end up smelling of Guns N’ Roses

IT brings a whole new meaning to “getting the show on the road” and it could see them crash into the big time.

Up-and-coming rock band The Stagger Rats look set to secure a huge arena concert on the same bill as Guns N’ Roses, all because of a fortuitous road accident during their shoestring European tour.

The Dunbar five-piece pranged into a vehicle belonging to two well-connected locals while en route to a gig in Croatia and made hay out of a potentially disastrous setback.

Held in a Serbian police station for eight hours and then hauled before a magistrate, the band managed to strike up a friendship with the woman they crashed into, who it seems had friends in high places.

The band are in talks with organisers of Exit Festival in Serbia that would see them line up alongside Guns N’ Roses, Duran Duran and New Order.

Guitarist Craig McMullen, 25, said: “When we were in Serbia, we crashed.

“The police turned up and took us back to the station, but one of the officers ended up going to his own house and bringing us back some of the local booze they drink there.

“The woman we crashed into, her friend works for Exit Festival. She phoned her up at the time and gave the phone to our manager, Bonny, so we’re probably getting a gig there.

“It’s a really big one – it’s massive. The four-day festival is one of the biggest in Europe and can attract around 100,000 revellers.”

Band manager Bonny Squair is now pulling out all the stops to make the gig a reality.

Organist Callum Easter, 24, said: “If it comes off, Exit Festival would be the biggest concert we have ever played,” he said. “It is supposed to be like Glastonbury but even better.”

The collision was the latest in a series of motorway mishaps to blight the tour. First, the band were conned out of 50 euros by bandits in Romania, before they were fined for failing a vehicle spot-check in Zagreb, Croatia, and it was all capped off with the accident in Serbia.

“We covered around 5500 miles with seven of us in a Transit van travelling to France, Holland, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Czech Republic and Croatia,” said Callum.

The band also hope to crack the United States and have pencilled in a date at the renowned South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.

Their debut album, Scorpio Leisure – recorded with producer Owen Morris, famed for work with Oasis, The Verge and Ash – is set for release towards the end of the year.