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.
A COS is an alternative route into the UK, regarded as “a safer bet” but with more onerous paperwork, said Smith. It involves a promoter sponsoring the band and checking their eligibility and vouching for them during their stay in the UK, from a few days to up to 90 days.
Smith said many artists were getting stuck at the border because the government guidance was unclear and printed only in English, rather than any EU languages. The other problem, he said, was that “individual border officers can use their discretion to refuse anyone they like at the border and there is no right of appeal”.
Schaarschmidt said he would not try to tour the UK again: “Despite all the love for music, these bureaucratic, cost-intensive, humiliating conditions are not at all tolerable.”
Burgess said the damage of Brexit to musicians was “unfolding slowly and there are already major difficulties for touring bands with spiralling costs and dwindling potential income affected by streaming.
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“The need for visas, carnets and all sorts of other ‘red tape’ just mean that grassroots artists will find it unviable to tour Europe.”
He called on the government to make it easier for bands to play live for the audiences who wanted to see them, both UK artists in the EU and vice versa. “The government rattle on enough that music is one of the UK’s strongest exports but they are hollowing out the chances for new artists in the future,” he said.
Smith said the government should educate UK promoters and venues in the entry requirements for overseas artists, to stop other artists suffering the same fate as Trigger Cut.
A government spokesman declined to answer questions about why Trigger Cut were refused entry to the UK.
They said: “Musicians and performers are a valued and important part of UK culture with the country attracting world class entertainers and musicians from around the globe. This is why we offer a dedicated immigration route for creative workers.
“All visa applications are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the immigration rules. The application process is designed to ensure that all visa decisions can be made using the most accurate information and is fair for all applicants.”
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