please help guys!

This is a long shot, but we are totally at a loss as to what to do.

So, we booked a tour with the wonderful French band Sincabeza. They just played their first show in beautiful Margate, but then on the way to where they were staying their van broke down. As far as I understand, it's a serious problem with the alignment of the back axle - I know fuck all about cars but they do, and have communicated to me that they're basically in the shit.

They've managed to find accommodation and get the van somewhere safe, but the long and short of it is that if they can't get the van fixed by lunch time tomorrow, they'll have to turn round and go home. I understand that the chances of being able to fix up the van in a morning are next to nothing. They don't have breakdown cover, and nowhere near enough funds to hire a new van. They're fucked. They're supposed to be playing with us in Lincoln tomorrow, then in Birmingham and all over Ireland, Scotland, all over - but it's not happening without a van. Moreover, we won't be able to tour as their van was supposed to be housing our gear - we'll have to cancel the whole thing.

All of this amounts to - ARGH.

I know it's a long shot, but if anyone in London/the south knows of anyone who might hire a van to a really lovely bunch of guys and accept a deposit of two or three hundred quid instead of eight hundred, it would be the most amazing thing in the world. I know it's a pretty enormous favour to ask, but I don't currently have any better ideas. Maybe someone knows a band who own a van they're not using at the moment? We would scrape together as much as we humanly could to leave as a deposit, and would pay up all the rest upon returning the vehicle. They just don't have the means to go through official channels and any support from the DIY scene could bail them and us out of an incredibly depressing situation.

Anything, any tips, any advice, would be appreciated - otherwise, goodbye to the tour we've been planning for the last six months. I know this is such a lot to ask of people, but if they can rack their brains and speak to friends of friends I would love you forever. Above all, we just don't want to let our friends in Sincabeza down; I can't think of anything suckier than looking forward to a tour in a foreign country for months, only to get there, play one show and then have to turn back.

Message me for my mobile number, email address, etc.

I need something to come through.... an It's a Wonderful Life-style whip around, anyone? Clutching at straws here.

Thanks,

Simmo/Souvaris x