Roger Daltrey responds after being asked for previous Brexit comments

Roger Daltrey responds after being asked for previous Brexit comments

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Who frontman Roger Daltrey responded after his decision to sign a letter supporting travel visas for musicians caused a stir online. The singer had previously expressed support for Brexit and said it would have no impact on music.

Daltrey joined Liam Gallagher, Ed Sheeran and Elton John when more than 100 artists signed an open letter criticizing the UK government for “shamefully failing” the music industry in Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.

The letter urged the government to “urgently do what it said it would do and negotiate paperless trips in Europe for British artists and their equipment” and argued that otherwise “many tours [will be] unviable, especially for young emerging musicians who are already struggling to keep their heads above water due to Covid’s ban on live music. ”

Daltrey’s support for the letter follows his previous well-publicized pro-Brexit comments, which he made in 2019. Asked if Brexit would be “bad for British rock,” he replied, “No. What does this have to do with the rock business? How are you going to tour Europe? Oh gosh. As if we hadn’t toured Europe before the fucking EU. Oh give up! “

He added: “If you want to be signed up to be ruled by a goddamn mafia, do it. It’s like being governed by FIFA. “

Now, Daltrey has issued an answer about his decision to sign his letter and support the visa-free tourism campaign. “I haven’t changed my opinion about the EU. I’m happy to be free of Brussels, not Europe, ”he said NME in a statement. “I would have preferred the reform, which was requested by us before the referendum and rejected by the then president of the EU.”

The vocalist continued: “I think that our government should have given greater priority to loosening restrictions for musicians and actors. All tours, actors and individual musicians must be treated like any other ‘Goods’ at the point of entry into the EU with a set of documents. Switzerland borders five EU countries and trade is electronically frictionless. Why not us? “

Earlier today, music fans, figures from the entertainment world and social media users went to Twitter to re-share their original statements and comment on their turnaround.

In response to Daltrey’s comments last year, Music Venue Trust CEO and former show promoter Mark Davyd said NME: “The problem is that at the level of popular music, we don’t form a large part of the conversation when it comes to considering what is happening with the musicians. You see Roger Daltrey on television saying, ‘Everything will be fine after Brexit’ because he used to play in Europe in the 1960s. So you have James Blunt saying it doesn’t matter and it won’t affect him – and you know what? He’s right. With the amount of money he earns from touring, he won’t even notice. “

“This is basically a tax on new and emerging musicians. It is not a tax that will have any impact on James Blunts and Roger Daltreys. Someone is going to sit in an office and fill out all the paperwork. “

The open letter was published hours after government ministers rejected calls for them to fight for a visa-free tour plan for musicians and their team with the EU.

Despite the widespread anger of artists and heads of the music industry asking the government to “take this seriously and fix it”, ministers rejected the idea yesterday (January 19) – insisting that “regaining control” of the borders is their priority and that negotiations will only resume if Brussels “changes its mind”.

A fight broke out last week after Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the EU was to blame for not allowing artists to travel without visas, after reports that a “standard” proposal would exempt artists from needing a visa to enter EU countries for travel under 90 days were refused by the UK government.

So, as NME revealed, the EU retaliated by denying claims that it had rejected the UK’s “ambitious proposals”, saying it had actually offered the UK 90 days of travel without a visa – but the UK responded with its own proposal of just 30 days . See more information about the different offers here.

The XX performs live during a show at Astra Club on January 22, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Jakubaszek / Getty Images)
The XX performs live during a show at Astra Club on January 22, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Jakubaszek / Getty Images)

Politicians from the Labor Party and Liberal Democrats also spoke on the subject to NME, claiming that “the government that blames the EU is predictable, but does nothing to help our creative industries” – and calling for the impasse to end with resumption of negotiations to find a viable solution.

Last week there were also members of the music industry raising their fears that the current Brexit deal could prevent UK artists from playing in the US, claiming that if talent fails to gain “international recognition” by playing in neighboring European countries with ease, so this can make them ineligible for a visa.

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