The Clone Roses, a St Helens tribute band to The Stone Roses, have been forced to cancel their long-awaited tour of Australia after visa delays prevented them from travelling. The band, made up of vocalist Gavin Scott, guitarist Tony Scott, bassist Mike Bagshaw and drummer Phil Bennett, were due to fly out this week for a five-date tour.
The artists were scheduled to perform in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. However, despite submitting their visa applications in advance, the documents were not processed in time for the band to leave the UK. This is the second time the band's plans to tour Australia have fallen through; a previous trip was cancelled five years ago because of the pandemic.
Band's statement
Announcing the news to fans, the band said: "We are absolutely gutted to confirm that we will not be travelling to Australia for the tour due to start this week. Despite the visa applications being submitted in advance, they have been subject to an extraordinary and unexplained processing delay, extending beyond the published processing times. Unfortunately the required visas were not granted in time for us to travel. This situation has been completely out of our control. We are deeply sorry to everyone who was looking forward to seeing us and devastated that we won't be able to perform as planned."
Background on the band
Formed in 1999, The Clone Roses have built a reputation as one of the country's leading Stone Roses tribute acts, performing hits including I Wanna Be Adored, She Bangs the Drums, Waterfall and Fools Gold. They are known for faithfully recreating the sound, look and atmosphere of a Stone Roses concert. Despite their long career, the furthest they have travelled to perform has been Belfast, according to the St Helens Star. The tour was due to take place over two weeks in late July and early August and would have been the band's first-ever visit to Australia.
