Thieves steal singer’s guitar

8:52am Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

Lauren Varley, 17, with her Ibanez AW30 guitar, which has been stolen from her car Lauren Varley, 17, with her Ibanez AW30 guitar, which has been stolen from her car

A TEENAGE singer-songwriter has had to cancel gigs around the region after her guitar was stolen.

Thieves broke into a car belonging to Lauren Varley, 17, and took the instrument, and also a bag belonging to her friend, while the pair were at York College.

Lauren, who is from Sherburn-in-Elmet and attends classes with York’s Access To Music at The Jam Factory in Eldon Street, said the Ibanez AW30 was of huge sentimental value.

She said: “I had saved up two years to buy my guitar and it means the world to me. I am a singer songwriter and my guitar is my living, I wrote all of my songs on that guitar.

“It’s not the fact they have stolen my guitar, but the fact it means so much to me. It’s the only thing I’ve ever looked after in my life.”

Lauren bought the instrument, which cost about £500, while on holiday in Florida, and has written more than a dozen original songs on it, including her debut single, Mr Cold Feet.

She had hoped to promote the new single, which is released this month, at upcoming gigs, but has had to cancel her shows due to the theft.

She said: “I had to cancel a gig in Leeds on Friday night because of this, so it’s costing me money all the time it’s missing.

“If they can hand it in or let the police know about where it is, it’s more than just a guitar to me. I’ve got an old one, but it’s not usable for a gig.”

The theft took place on Thursday. A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said a 37-year-old man was arrested in the Pottery Lane area of York on Saturday morning in connection with the theft.

Comments(11)

Woody Mellor says...
9:23am Tue 5 Feb 13

Terrible thing to happen. But why leave it in your car unattended if its so precious?
And why cancel the gigs? Are there no other guitars on the planet that could be borrowed and used?

Confused.com

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roskoboskovic says...
9:24am Tue 5 Feb 13

is this touting for a freebie.

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coldcoffee says...
9:54am Tue 5 Feb 13

Strange as it may seem, Woody, you can't always be carrying a guitar everywhere you go, and sometimes, yes, you have to leave it in your car. I hope as there as been an arrest that Lauren gets her guitar back. I can quite understand that it is very special to her, and wish her well with her music.

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laurenyerr says...
1:12pm Tue 5 Feb 13

i was only in college for 1 hour and it was locked in my boot of the car.. i just want someone to come forward if they saw anything it is also a EW30 and was stolen on eldon street not york college

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laurenyerr says...
1:12pm Tue 5 Feb 13

i was only in college for 1 hour and it was locked in my boot of the car.. i just want someone to come forward if they saw anything it is also a EW30 and was stolen on eldon street not york college

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TheTruthHurts says...
1:37pm Tue 5 Feb 13

I have a tanglewood tw1000 that i very rarely use (as i like to play my original £70 banger that i learned on)
'
You are more than welcome to borrow it.... seems a shame to cancel gigs for it :-)

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ShunGokuSatsu says...
2:34pm Tue 5 Feb 13

roskoboskovic wrote:
is this touting for a freebie.
You, sir, are a turd of the highest order.

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bob the builder says...
5:14pm Tue 5 Feb 13

... so it was stolen in the Groves, no surprise, not the College car park where the stoners couldn't open an unlocked car door!

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Woody G Mellor says...
5:27pm Tue 5 Feb 13

coldcoffee wrote:
Strange as it may seem, Woody, you can't always be carrying a guitar everywhere you go, and sometimes, yes, you have to leave it in your car. I hope as there as been an arrest that Lauren gets her guitar back. I can quite understand that it is very special to her, and wish her well with her music.
Strange as it may seem coldcoffee, I've been playing guitar for about twenty years, and I have never given a thief the slightest opportunity to nick any of my guitars.

As Lauren had her guitar locked in the boot, then that's bloody bad luck. Still, it's no reason to cancel gigs. The show must go on!

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coldcoffee says...
9:09am Wed 6 Feb 13

Delighted to hear it, Woody. Like you I've been a musician for around twenty years (saxophone including the bass - great big awkward thing) and I have been similarly careful. I don't see that as a justification for jumpting to conclusions about other peoples' behaviour, however.

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windowlicker says...
9:33am Thu 7 Feb 13

This could be rubbish as I heard it second hand, but a freind of mine mentioned a recent tale of someone finding two bagged guitars in a bus stop at the the uni down Heslington Rd, one was described as an Ib and the other was a violin bass and they were handed in to the University at Heslington (department unknown). Twas Tuesday I heard this btw!

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