The Wombats have recalled the time they were chased by gangsters in Rio de Janeiro while out on tour.
The Liverpool band, who released their sixth album ‘Oh! The Ocean’ last week, looked back on the run-in during a new interview with the Daily Star‘s ‘Wired’ column.
“We got chased in Rio by a gang. We were out, someone said the wrong thing, we were doing the wrong thing,” explained frontman Matthew Murphy (via Music-News.COM).
“Somebody – I won’t say who got into an argument with this other guy, and didn’t realise who he was, or what he was in.”
The singer went on to remember that a car chase then ensued, following the dispute in the Brazillian city.
“And then our taxi was chased back to the hotel by these two Land Rovers,” Murphy said. “I ran up to my hotel room, and our tour manager had to diffuse the situation.”
The Wombats are currently out on a run of record store dates ahead of their UK arena tour kicking off next month. Find any remaining tickets here.
The group will also appear at numerous UK and European festivals this year, including Boardmasters, Neighbourhood Weekender, Y Not, Kendal Calling, Mad Cool and Hurricane Festival.
Speaking to NME last year, frontman Murphy looked ahead to playing arenas on tour in 2025. “The bigger the crowd, the more comfortable I feel,” he said. “The small ones freak me out, because I can see everyone’s face.”
He continued: “I can see the boyfriend that’s been dragged along against his will. I can see the first album fans, or I can see the people who know us from TikTok and were expecting a Euro dance track. I can see all of these things, whereas when it’s a big crowd, I just see one quite happy, energetic being.”
Murphy added: “If it’s Glastonbury, if it’s a big stage and there’s cameras on me, like a livestream or whatever, that’s different, that’s probably the most difficult. I don’t like that, because you’ve got the big crowd and the singular thing staring at you.”
The Wombats’ 2025 UK arena tour dates are:
MARCH
18 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
19 – The O2, London
21 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
22 – AO Arena, Manchester
23 – Connexin Live, Hull
25 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
26 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
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