King Crimson won’t be touring across Europe in 2019, according to mainman Robert Fripp.
The band had been planning a run of shows to celebrate their 50th anniversary next year. But due to uncertainty arising from Britain’s exit from the European Union, those plans have been scrapped.
Fripp says on his website: “Brexit has impacted King Crimson’s 50th anniversary touring plans. Currently there is no forseeable exit arrangement for the UK, no clear plans for migrant workers, eg the Brothers Crim and their pals, whether work visas will be necessary for anyone other than our American members.
“The technicalities and bureaucracy of arranging visas for all eight members of The Beast plus 12 support team persons, in each different country, is impracticable – this without even dealing with the withholding tax for each jurisdiction.
“Compliance with EU tax and individual arrangements for each country is already close to unworkable for small organisations. KC/DGM is a good example of the margin between too small/sufficiently large, to be proportionately overloaded with stuff.
“I wonder how many, of those good persons that plan and implement a seemingly endless proliferation of forms, have gone out into the world and directed a small company.
“So, we have abandoned plans for a celebration Euro tour of 2019. There is one possibility of performing in England, but this is contingent on a most-unlikely arising.
“Our attention is therefore being directed to other places in the world.”
King Crimson have a handful of live shows planned for this summer, while the band released Live In Vienna 2016 in April this year on 3CD.
