Let the legendary Ebo Taylor and his Saltpond City Band come to the UK, please!
Ebo Taylor is an internationally renowned musician and composer, primarily for his innovations in Afrobeat and sophisticated compositions dating back from the 1960s and into the present day. This year he turned 81, yet his output remains prolific. He is currently working on a new album with the Saltpond City Band, who feature two of his sons, Henry and Deroy. This summer, they organized a Europe tour together with managers and artists from the Netherlands, the UK and Germany. At the end of the tour they planned to record their new album in London. They have been working on the preparation of the tour and the album for months, paid for the recording studio etc. In the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom a remarkable fan base awaits in them. Thousands of people bought tickets for the concerts and long for the new album.
The whole band was provided with Schengen visas, but they had to apply for additional visas for the UK (which is not part of the Schengen community). The British embassy kept the band's passports for weeks, long enough that they had to cancel their shows in the Netherlands and Brussels. Despite the setback, Ebo’s band still hoped to attend their shows and the recording session in the UK. This week the band was informed that their UK visas were refused, so the whole tour and the recording session has to be cancelled.
We, as European citizens and music lovers won’t accept this. These visa laws are made to control movement. The travels of Ebo Taylor and his band are highly controlled. We urgently demand that Ebo Taylor and his Saltpond City Band be allowed to perform across Europe and record their album in the UK as planned!
Our European nations are also nations of music lovers, not only nations of irrational bureaucracy! We want to show the connection that exists between Ebo’s band and their European fans who cherish this type of rare opportunity to hear them play. We need to remind the authorities that bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake here results in depriving crowds of dedicated music lovers the chance to hear a great group of musicians.
Why is it so complicated – often impossible – for a non-European citizen to secure a visa to European countries, while European citizens can get visas to almost everywhere within a relatively short period?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUBa5ZcOlow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9qfcogeAz4
