Rockstar Stranded on Roadside for 15 Hours: Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos Calls out RAC for Poor Service

Alex Kapranos, frontman of the Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, suffered a car breakdown last week and waited for 15 hours before emergency services responded. The singer kept fans amused on X (formerly known as Twitter) by making posts throughout his desperate wait. Still, many were furious on Kapranos’ behalf, wondering what could have taken the tow truck so long to show up.

Kapranos did not reveal where he had broken down, but indicated that he was on the side of the road forced to wait with his car for someone to show up. The 52-year-old singer began his posting spree on the night of Sunday, Sept. 1 by tagging the RAC – an automotive services company known for roadside assistance and general insurance. At the time, he wrote: “I’ve been waiting to be picked up from a motorway breakdown for 7 hours. Your operators don’t seem to know what is going on. Or say trucks ahve been dispatched when they haven’t. Is this normal? Is this my life now? Waiting for the truck that never comes?”

Fans were amused by Kapranos’ melodramatic phrasing and horrified by his wait time – not knowing that he was less than halfway through his crucible. They sent their condolences and well wishes as the hours dragged on, but Kapranos seemed to reach a new level of frustration when he noticed the RAC X accounts responding to other users, but not him. He wrote: “I see you’re answering tweets, but not mine. It’s nearly 14 hours I’ve been waiting for a truck. Any clue as to what is going on?”

“It’s now 15 hours I’ve been waiting for a truck,” his next post began. “You don’t even have the courtesy to reply on here? You do have consistency, I suppose, as that’s pretty much what I’ve been getting when I call your call centre.”

By the time the RAC social media accounts responded to Kapranos, a truck had arrived. Kapranos wrote: “Thanks for the reply, Conor. A driver has arrived. 15 hours after I first broke down. Obviously I shall be canceling my 20 year+ RAC membership as soon as I get home and giving [The AA] a ring.”

Surprisingly, this was not the RAC’s final comment on the matter. When NME reported on Kapranos’ posts, the RAC sent the outlet a statement saying: “We rescued Alex from the motorway at 9pm and towed him to a nearby motorway services and put him up in a hotel as per his policy. We came out to him again the next day to resolve.”

Kapranos will need a solid insurance plan in the coming weeks as Franz Ferdinand has a few shows coming up at the end of the month. The band’s schedule is available on its website here. So far, Kapranos has not responded publicly to the RAC’s contradictory take on his breakdown.