Van-ishing act leaves singer Fran red-faced
TRYING in vain to find the car you parked earlier is a position many of us have been in, forcing us to pound the streets and quell rising fears our vehicle has possibly been taken.
But Travis singer Fran Healy was left red-faced after he launched an online appeal to find his ‘stolen’ camper van – before remembering he had parked it in a different street. The 42-year-old frontman of the Glasgow band took to social media to plead with fans to help find his distinctive orange and white VW fan after it ‘disappeared’ from outside a television studio in Berlin.
The singer told his 40,000 Twitter followers: ‘I just had my VW nicked in Kreuzberg Berlin. If you see it please let me know. Danke.’
A statement on the band’s Facebook page also read: ‘Calling all Berliners – someone has stolen Fran’s VW camper van from outside TV Noir. Any sightings or info please let us know!’
He also posted photos of his beloved camper online and his appeal was shared thousands of times on Twitter and Facebook. But six hours later, he was forced to retreat.
The embarrassed star posted: ‘Update – I FOUND IT. It was in a different street. Yes. I’m an idiot. Thank you so much for retweets. I need a cup of tea. What a day!!! Fran X.’
And he later added: ‘You know, I’m not really embarrassed. More touched that everyone helped to try to find it.’
Healy has lived in Berlin for the past eight years with his German wife Nora Kryst and ten-year-old son Clay.
In March, he was among celebrities who appealed for the return of ‘Ursula’, a camper van stolen from London man James Eppy.
Travis fans were tickled by the latest drama. One told him to ‘Drink less’, while another, Mary McCulloch, said: ‘Typical man.’
On Twitter, Phil Harrison said: ‘We’ve all done that. Just not so publicly.’