Carrie & Tommy uncover the truth behind decade-old Australian music mystery

The Hit Network’s Carrie & Tommy have become unexpected detectives in one of Australian music’s strangest unsolved mysteries – tracking down Thirsty Merc frontman Rai Thistlewayte’s stolen jacket, missing for over a decade.

The iconic jacket, worn during the height of the band’s success – including on album covers, at awards shows, and during live performances – vanished in 2014 after a gig at The Marlin Hotel, Sussex Inlet.

In a desperate plea last year, Thistlewayte took to social media to appeal for its return more than a decade later, revealing CCTV footage of two people backstage taking it.

Now, in an unexpected twist, Carrie & Tommy have cracked the case.

Listener Becky called in to confess that her late mother – an enormous Thirsty Merc fan – had the jacket all along.

After years of trying to return it, she enlisted Carrie & Tommy to help reunite Rai with his beloved piece of music history. The only problem? Rai still hasn’t got the call.

Becky told Carrie and Tommy “Mum was diagnosed with cancer, and she became overcome with a lot of guilt; she was like, ‘We need to get Rai’s jacket back to him.’ So, I’ve been trying for about 5 years to get his jacket back to him. Mum passed away last year.”

“At the end of the day, maybe he thought we were crazy fans. We got tickets to his concert, his ticket got cancelled due to COVID. We contacted event managers, got nothing. Sent off emails and it went into the abyss. As time went on and Mum’s illness got worse, it wasn’t really at the forefront (of my mind).”

“People on (his Facebook) post were saying all these weird things, like it’s probably at a thrift shop, but it was actually sitting in my closet.”

Listen to Carrie and Tommy on the Hit Network from 3-6pm weekdays, also on LiSTNR.