Taxman Causes Echo & The Bunnymen To Cancel U.S. Tour

Illness or dodgy promoters are often the main cause of tour cancellations.

But British band Echo & The Bunnymen say they cancelled their upcoming U.S. tour due to Uncle Sam's tax man.

There's no word if the taxman in question was Mr. Wilson.

"It's with deepest regret that Echo & The Bunny have had to cancel their USA November tour," the band wrote on their website on Thursday (Nov. 4). "This is due to unreasonable demands been presented by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the band to enter the USA to tour.

"This is not a VISA issue as some websites have stated."

A BBC News report states that according to rules set out by the IRS, foreign bands have to pay a fee if they tour in the U.S. more than once in 30 days. Echo & The Bunnymen played a show at New York City's Mercury Lounge before officially starting the proper tour.

The band, who recently played Toronto's Queen Elizabeth Theatre and performed 1984's Ocean Rain in its entirety during some gigs, were slated to start the U.S. trek in Atlanta on Nov. 15 before a string of British dates in December.

Refunds for the shows will be made available, but the group says they will return to the U.S. in April for west and east coast jaunts.

Echo & The Bunnymen recently issued their new studio album, The Fountain, but are planning to release Live At The Royal Albert Hall later this month. The album features Ocean Rain in its entirety as well as the band's biggest hits.

British support act Hatcham Social apparently got the shaft again with this incident. The band were slated to support The Charlatans UK on their North American tour earlier this year, but that was also cancelled.

You can see Echo & The Bunnymen here:

Dec. 12 Oxford, England @ O2 Academy Oxford
Dec. 14 Newcastle Upon Tyne, England @ O2 Academy Newcastle
Dec. 15 Leeds, England @ O2 Academy Leeds
Dec. 17-19 Liverpool, England @ O2 Academy Liverpool