Officials blame thieves for power problems at South Africa’s main World Cup stadium, but the stadium manager promised Friday the lights will be on in time for a U2 concert. The theft of power cables in the area around Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium led to fluctuations in supplies that can damage generators and other equipment, stadium manager Jacques Grobbelaar said Friday. City Power spokesman Sol Masolo said his utility had asked police to investigate a case of cable theft in the…

More than £20,000 worth of musical equipment, including a guitar belonging to murder victim Jim Gilchrist, has been recovered by police. The Blues musician was found dead in the River Foyle in September 2005 after a night out at a motorcycle club in the city. Police were called on Monday after a van was spotted acting suspiciously on the Victoria Road in Strabane. In a follow-up search, police recovered the musical equipment in the Clooney area of Derry, Northern Ireland….

A pair of crooks caught with more that £100,000 ($160,000) of gear and “irreplaceable” vintage guitars stolen from indie band, Noah and the Whale, have been brought to justice. Their haul included a 1963 Fender Jaguar. The band’s front man Charlie Fink said, “These instruments are not just stuff we can go out and buy again. So much of what is unique about our sound is because of them. They define us as a band.” Their trailer, containing the gear,…

A man has been arrested in Canberra after allegedly being caught red-handed with a collection of hot guitars. Police were called to a music store last Tuesday after a report that several guitars had been stolen. By yesterday morning, officers had executed a search of a home in nearby, where officers allegedly discovered the guitars laid out on a bed with the tags still attached. Police said they found other suspected stolen goods at the property. An 18-year-old man was…

A guitar tutor who filmed a sex act with the 15-year-old pupil he was having an affair with has been jailed for four years. David Green, 55, had regular sex with the girl during guitar lessons in his bedroom, while his disabled wife was downstairs, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday. He was found out after the teenager’s family became suspicious when her playing did not improve, prosecutor Nicholas Barker said. The man, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to six…

A well known Yorkshire father and son business partnership dealing in rare and old musical instruments and equipment have been accused of handling stolen guitars worth £170,000 (c.$260,000). At the time of the alleged offences Richard and Justin Harrison owned a well known company called Music Ground. They had shops in Leeds, Manchester and London as well as many international customers. Mrs Lisa Carlton, the prosecutor, said they were both charged with handling stolen goods and intending or assisting in…

Just two days ago we reported the theft of a Washburn electro-acoustic from a kind-hearted musician who was entertaining staff and customers at a thrift store in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Well in a turnaround to warm the cockles of anyone’s heart this Christmas, the guitar has been returned untouched. From http://www.castanet.net/: “Wednesday night, two people attended the Rutland Community Policing Office with the guitar saying they had discovered it leaning up against a building somewhere in Rutland and knew, from…

Boston police set up a fake store in the city’s Downtown Crossing area to catch would-be Grinches red-handed. One of the men arrested is accused of stealing guitars. As part of operation “Men In Blue”, two undercover police officers posed as the owners of M.I.B. Jewelers at 365 Washington St. The store appeared to be a jewelry and electronics repair shop that was also willing to buy stolen goods. Four people were arraigned in the Central Division of the Boston…

A Kelowna musician played his heart out for the benefit of others and was rewarded with the theft of his prized guitar. The musician was volunteering his time and musical talent to bring some Christmas cheer to the staff and customers of a Roxby Road thrift store on Monday, said police. “After finishing his set of songs, he put his guitar away in its black soft gig bag and walked mere feet away from it to accept a gift from…

A musician pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal air marshal on a USAirways flight from Philadelphia to Amsterdam in August and was subsequently sentenced to five years’ probation. U.S. Magistrate Timothy Rice also required Thomas Gorham, 39, to perform 10 hours of community service per week during probation and undergo alcohol-abuse treatment. The judge suggested that Gorham could perform the community service by playing his guitar at several nursing homes and a home for the handicapped in Marblehead. Rice said…