There was nothing rock'n'roll about Opshop being booted out of Britain.On Saturday, the Kiwi band had to cancel their Edinburgh show, the first of a 10-day, three-show promotional tour, after trouble with visas.Siren record label representative Tracy Magan said management thought Opshop could travel under the visa-waiver programme because they wouldn't be making any money during the tour.But rule changes had seen the programme "tightened up" significantly.In the past three months there had been a 12 per cent increase in expulsions and bands from around the world had been caught short."This is the kind of stuff happening an awful lot - it's always been a grey area for bands. Now it [the programme] has changed so quickly."We had to find out the hard way."Ms Magan said visas were being sorted out now and the band members - Matt Treacy, Jason Kerrison, Bobby Kennedy and Clint Harris - would be back in the UK by the end of the week.New dates as well as refund information are to be announced.
Last year, the band released Second Hand Planet, a 30,000-unit double-platinum-selling effort, as a follow-up to You Are Here.Their song Maybe is the most successful of all time on New Zealand radio.
