<
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/apr/10/german-punk-band-humiliated-after-being-refused-uk-entry-due-to-post-brexit-rules>
"A punk band from Germany say they were “humiliated” and “degraded” after being
refused entry to the UK for their British tour due to “opaque and confusing”
post-Brexit rule changes.
Trigger Cut, a three-piece from Stuttgart, were due to play seven venues in the
UK this week but say they were turned away by the UK Border Force at Calais on
Thursday 6 April.
Tim Burgess, the frontman of The Charlatans, said the German band’s “nightmare”
experience showed the damage Brexit was doing to touring musicians: “What
happened to Trigger Cut is scary, as bands from the EU are facing confusing and
complex rules that mean UK tour dates might just not be worth their while.”
Ian Smith, a longtime music agent who co-founded Carry On Touring and
ukeartswork.info, which campaigns to help artists work in the EU and UK, said
each month he heard of artists from the EU being refused entry because of
post-Brexit requirements. “They are so bloody opaque and confusing,” he said.
Trigger Cut say their passports were confiscated and they were kept in a room
for verification at Calais, before a Border Force officer asked them for a
“certificate of sponsorship” (COS) from each venue they were due to play.
Ralph Schaarschmidt, Trigger Cut’s guitarist, wrote on Facebook: “Months of
planning, 1,750km of driving to Calais and back to Stuttgart, van hire costs,
paid for expensive customs declarations, ferry ticket – all for nothing. We are
sitting in a deep dark hole emotionally right now, this is a nightmare … I
think I’ve never felt so degrad[ed], sad and bad as I do today.”
Smith, who has been in touch with the band, said they did not have the COS
certificates. Instead, they planned to enter the UK under the “permitted paid
engagement” (PPE) exemption, which is free.
This allows musicians to spend up to one month touring the UK if they are
invited and paid by a UK-based organisation or client. Artists must be able to
show a formal invitation to attend a pre-arranged event and prove they can
support themselves during the trip and can pay for their return journey."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
