Glasvegas mystery solved as frontman James Allan found safe in New York

The missing frontman of Glasgow band Glasvegas, James Allan, is safe and well in New York, The Independent can reveal.

The band’s manager, Dean Cunning, said the singer had telephoned him yesterday afternoon after finding out that people were concerned for his safety.

"James is not missing, he’s in New York," he said. "He got in touch with me yesterday at about 1.45pm to tell me he was OK because he knew people were worried, but to be honest I’ve been just as much in the dark about this as anybody - the last time I saw James was at the gig in Cardiff. I don’t even know exactly when he went missing."

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The band, who opened for U2 when they played at Hampden in Glasgow last month, were due to fly to Boston today to support Kings Of Leon on their US tour.

When asked whether the singer would be able to join the band for their American gigs, Mr Cunning said: "I fucking hope so."

Sony BMG, the band’s record label, are expected to put out a statement later today confirming that Allan is safe.

Last night, he failed to turn up for the Mercury Music Prize ceremony - for which his group had been nominated for their self-titled debut album - prompting concerns about his health.

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His bandmates told journalists at that he had been missing for five days, although the official line was that he had a "fever". The band were due to perform at the Grosvenor Hotel in London, but called off their performance because of Allan’s absence.

Rab Allan, Glasvegas’s guitarist and Allan’s cousin, told the Daily Record newspaper that he had not been seen since Friday, when the band flew into their native Glasgow from Italy.

Allan wrote all the songs on their debut album, noted for its dramas about death, violence and social workers.

The band, formed in Glasgow in 2003, impressed the Mercury judges with their “bitter sweet sounds of classic rock ‘n’ roll”, and “gloriously elegiac anthems of contemporary life”.