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Paul Simon's famous backing band Ladysmith Black Mambazo narrowly escaped a terrifying road trip when their coach was stolen as their crew slept inside.
The Grammy-winning South African choral group, who famously sang on Simon's Graceland album, played a gig in Cambridge, England earlier this month (15Oct09) and parked their tour bus outside the Corn Exchange venue ahead of the concert.
Several crew members, as well as the driver, slept on board the bus while the band went to a nearby hotel, but they were woken in the early hours of the morning when the coach doors were forced open and the vehicle began moving along the road.
They managed to stop the bus, but failed to restrain the would-be hijacker, who fled the vehicle.
Joseph Horgan, 26, was later apprehended and has pleaded guilty to a string of offences relating to the incident, including criminal damage and failing to provide a breath test.
In a hearing at a Cambridge court on Friday (23Oct09) Horgan's lawyer, Clive Broe, explained the incident as a "drunken prank that got out of hand."
He added, "Mr Horgan was pressing buttons without knowing what they did. To this day, Mr Horgan, who didn't have a key for the bus, doesn't know how he started it."
Sentencing was adjourned until 13 November (09).
