A ROCK band fear Brexit is putting their future in jeopardy after a chance to tour Germany this summer was thrown into doubt.
Twisted State of Mind were due to play 11 venues in cities including Berlin, Munich and Hamburg in June.
But the Witney-based group claim several companies are threatening to pull out of sponsoring the tour over the uncertainty caused by Britain’s planned exit from the European Union.
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Drummer Damon Marshall, 19, revealed the problem lies in the potential cost of funding British bands after Brexit.
He said: “Brexit has raised quite a few financial concerns for the companies.
“Because we’re a British band, they say it’ll be more expensive to have us over.
“We’re having to wait for Brexit.”
Mr Marshall, who is son of Witney Music Festival chairman Eric Marshall, is the oldest member of the group, which formed in 2011.
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He is joined by lead singer Ben Comley, Luke Ashby on guitar and Joe Wastie on bass guitar, all of whom are 18 years old.
Twisted State of Mind have already performed several times in Europe and America and their debut album is in the works.
After finishing sixth form, the quartet all took gap years to focus on the band and had earmarked the trip in June as an opportunity to hit the big time.
The tour is set to take the group across Germany’s biggest cities, with appearances in Dortmund, Frankfurt and Dresden among those provisionally scheduled.
Mr Marshall said: “For the first few years it was a hobby, but now we’ve got the opportunity to turn it into a career.
“This tour was going to be the thing that broke us into the industry.
“It’s putting our future careers in music in jeopardy.”
Of the companies set to sponsor the tour, Mr Marshall only named IMG, a global sports, events and talent management giant.
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The company did not respond to a request for comment, although it is unclear which aspect of the tour it was set to sponsor.
Companies had agreed to finance costs such as equipment and transport, but Twisted State of Mind could also need others to be funded after Brexit, such as working visas.
The band have been working with German-based producer Tommy Newton on their latest project, set to be released later this year.
But Mr Newton feels uncertainty over Brexit is harming opportunities for UK bands abroad.
He said: “This whole Brexit situation has our hands tied at the moment.
“No promoter or record label will sign any newcomer band from the UK until it is settled.
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“Hopefully it will be settled in a good way, otherwise this problem will continue.
He added: “I can’t tell you anything more [about what will happen] until this Brexit soap opera is over.”
Britain was originally set to leave the EU at 11pm on Friday, but Prime Minister Theresa May has been granted an extra two weeks to come up with a solution.
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