UK: Musician kicked off train

[John Ashworth]

Musician kicked off train for writing the word 'Killers'... as he scribbled list of his favourite bands

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:12 PM on 17th March 2010

A musician writing a playlist for his next gig was kicked off a train for writing the band name The Killers.

Tom Shaw was told by security officers that what he was writing was ‘suspicious’ and despite his protests he was asked to leave the train.

Once on the platform, Shaw showed the officers his list, which included the name of the best-selling American rock band as well as the Oasis song Cigarettes And Alcohol and Shut Up And Let Me Go by British band the Ting Tings.

After explaining to them why he had written Killers, the officers let the 25-year-old bassist go.

‘We play a track called All These Things I Have Done by The Killers, and to save time I just wrote Killers,’ he said.

‘They did ask me about that so maybe that was the reason I was told to leave the train. It seems very strange.’

Shaw, who plays in a band called The Magic Mushrooms, was kicked off by the South West Trains officers just minutes after boarding the train at Fratton station, in Portsmouth, Hants.

‘When I got on at Fratton I saw two people who looked like they were in luminous police jackets,’ he said.

‘I sat down and I could see them looking over my shoulder.

‘After a couple of minutes they told me I'd have to get off the train and when I asked why, they said they would speak to me more on the platform.

‘They made me get out at Fareham and when I asked what was wrong they told me to show them the piece of paper I had been writing on.

‘They said I'd been behaving suspiciously which seemed very strange. I couldn't understand it because it was just a list of songs.

‘We had a gig coming up so I was writing out what we could play. They made me explain everything I had written song by song.’

When he was ordered off the train, Tom's list contained just the three tracks.

Tom said he was told by the officers, who were employed as security staff by South West Trains, that he'd been removed from the train because there had been a 'number of arrests' nearby including one man who had killed his wife.

A spokesperson for South West Trains said: ‘We employ highly professional rail community officers who work closely with the British Transport Police in protecting the security of passengers on the rail network.

‘During a routine high-visibility patrol, they spoke with a passenger on the platform at Fareham station.

‘The team clarified the nature of the individual's business, were satisfied with his explanation and the man went on his way.

‘We would like to thank him for his co-operation and understanding of the need to be vigilant in the current environment.’