Elton John has warned that a “generation of talent” will suffer in the wake of post-Brexit touring rules for musicians.
Following Britain’s separation from the European Union, the government failed to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew in Lord Frost’s Brexit deal.
The move has sparked fears that artists will face huge costs to take part in live music tours around the continent which, according to Elton, will hit rising artists the hardest.
In a statement to his Instagram page, Elton revealed he, his partner and Rocket Entertainment CEO David Furnish, promoter Craig Stanley and Lord Paul Strasberger met with Lord Frost to discuss the issue.
And while they attempted to “spell out the damage the trade agreement he negotiated with Europe is doing to the UK’s music industry,” the Rocket Man star suggested the talks didn’t prove fruitful.
“Despite this looming catastrophe, the government seems unable or unwilling to fix this gaping hole in their trade deal and defaults to blaming the EU rather than finding ways out of this mess,” he said.
“The situation is already critical and touring musicians, crews and support staff are already losing their livelihood.”
Elton went on to insist he was not concerned with the risk for artists on a similar level to himself, who frequent arenas and stadiums and are “ lucky enough to have the support staff, finance and infrastructure to cut through the red tape that Lord Frost’s no deal has created.”
“During our meeting Lord Frost said trying to solve this issue is a long process,” explained the Tiny Dancer star.
“Unfortunately, our industry doesn’t have time. It is dying now. The government have broken the promise they outlined in 2020 to protect musicians and other creative industries from the impact of Brexit on tours to Europe.”
Concluding his statement, Elton wrote:“I call on the government to sort this mess out or we risk losing future generations of world-beating talent,” he said.
“This is about whether one of the UK’s most successful industries, worth £111bn a year, is allowed to prosper and contribute hugely to both our cultural and economic wealth, or crash and burn.”
Elton is set to return to the stage in September 2021 for the rescheduled European leg of his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ Tour, which was postponed amid the pandemic.
The jaunt wraps in December, with a North American leg planned for 2022 and more shows in Oceania scheduled for 2023.
