Glasvegas 'shocked' by Britain's knife culture

Glasvegas frontman James Allan has admitted feeling disillusioned over the knife crime culture which is currently sweeping the UK.

The singer has admitted that every time he reads about a stabbing it "strikes" him with "total shock".

He said: "I guess there's a big list of potential roots to the problem. There are definitely frustrations in the youth which have been in our culture for quite a while.

"But no matter how many times you read about it, it strikes you with total shock, the lack of humanity. Or like I say in (album track) 'Ice Cream Van' 'pure community, freedom of faith, act of citizenship'.

"You know, there's no-one's actually saying, 'Grow a heart, man'. How could you actually harm another person? What's happening to us man?"

The singer, whose band's forthcoming debut album features the track 'Flowers & Football Tops', which is lyrically inspired by the murder of a 15-year-old Glaswegian who was abducted near James's home, stabbed 13 times and drenched in petrol, said knife crime was common in his hometown.

He told The Guardian: "It's been in the news a lot in London, but in Glasgow it's always been like that. If you grow up in Glasgow, you've been chased with something. I've been chased with a five iron!"

Between April 2007 and March 2008 up to 7,409 knife crime attacks were reported in London alone.