Over £11,000 Raised After Musician’s Guitar Stolen

Over £11,000 has been collected following the theft of a musician’s “beloved” guitar, which was a gift from his grandfather. Tom A Smith, from Sunderland, was en route to London with his band for a radio interview and a performance on Friday when their van was broken into at London Gateway service station. All their equipment was taken, along with laptops and medication belonging to one of the band members. Andy Smith, Tom A Smith’s father, expressed his gratitude to those who had contributed in a social media message, stating: “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts – you’ve made me cry.” The 20-year-old singer mentioned that his grandfather had given him the guitar approximately seven years ago. He told the BBC: “It’s my prized possession, the greatest thing I own.” He further elaborated: “In fact, I only started bringing it to shows recently because I was worried it might get stolen.” The band’s interview on Radio X proceeded as planned, but the scheduled live session was cancelled. The singer’s Facebook post has generated numerous sympathetic comments, including one that tagged music star Elton John and requested his assistance. Among the stolen items was also a guitar that had been given to bass player Katie for her 21st birthday. In his post, Andy Smith detailed the significance of the instruments, saying: “Tom’s guitar was a beauty, gifted by his grandad and it had followed him through his whole career. “He mainly plays electric these days but he writes every song on it and even used it to play in the centre circle at his beloved football club’s stadium in front of 40,000 fans.” Regarding Katie’s instrument, he added: “Katie’s bass guitar was a carefully chosen 21st birthday present from her dad and it really meant the world to her and is irreplaceable.” He further stated that while the money raised could not replace the items “like for like,” it would help the band continue performing.