Wheatus cancel 14 dates of UK tour

Wheatus have cancelled more than half of their upcoming UK tour starting next month. The following statement was made:

As you may or may not know, Wheatus have been advertised to perform at several universities throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland this fall, as well as a select few clubs. These tour dates were tentatively proposed to run from mid-September until early October and would primarily involve full-band performances at several Uni Freshers Balls.

We deeply regret to announce that we will not be performing at any of these events:

Sep. 29: Swansea
Sep. 30: Aberystwyth
Oct. 01: Dublin, Ireland
Oct. 02: Cork, Ireland
Oct. 03: Portlaoise, Ireland
Oct. 04: Dublin, Ireland
Oct. 05: Donegal, Ireland
Oct. 06: Royal Holloway College, Egham
Oct. 07: Peterborough, The Park
Oct. 08: Sheffield Corporation
Oct. 09: Hertford
Oct. 10: Liverpool Carling Academy
Oct. 11: Nottingham, Junction 7
Oct. 12: Preston, 53 Degrees

In the future, any mention of us performing at any show that is not confirmed on our website or our MySpace page should be completely disregarded.

This situation has been extremely complex and stressful, and we feel you are all owed an explanation. While we were aware of the possibility of performing at several universities and clubs this fall, and were indeed engaged in negotiations to do so, we were prematurely and unlawfully confirmed to perform at some of them by our booking agent before we had gotten the chance to review if this tour would be feasible for us. Some universities even started advertising our show prior to us being presented with contracts. At the center of it all, there is a double-header show (two performances on the same night) that was booked without our consent. Despite the fact that we repeatedly confirmed in writing and over the phone that this was a logistical impossibility for us, our communications seemed to have been disregarded. Those we communicated with failed to reiterate our inabilities to the promoter and university. We were also told that refusal to "try" to do the impossible would result in several other integral show offers being withdrawn, which would have made the entire tour fall apart. Furthermore, it has come to our attention that one of the booking agents was unlawfully misrepresenting himself as our manager, complete with power of attorney to confirm shows in our name. Wheatus have been self-managed since May of 2006.

When we found out all this had happened, we were devastated. At any rate, the net result was a long, vague, and contradictory negotiation to try and reach a compromise that skillfully avoided disappointing the universities, the promoters, the students, and, most importantly, fans of the band. Unfortunately, all of our suggestions for compromise were eventually denied and we were forced to cancel a tour we never actually agreed to in the first place.

All of our suggested compromises left us with a devastating net financial loss for the tour, which we were prepared to accept if certain conditions were met and certain unlawful misrepresentations were corrected. Unfortunately, the opposing parties were either unwilling to discuss the issue with us or unwilling to compromise. In addition, some of the opposing parties, who shall remain nameless, issued threats of physical violence and career damage in writing to us if we refused to do the tour on their terms. Obviously, the circumstances presented us with an impossible situation. We deeply regret any inconvenience or disappointment this may have caused any of you.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, after the September 11th attacks, Wheatus were advised by attorneys, managers and label representatives to cancel a tour scheduled for the Fall of 2001 because of fears of terrorism being carried out against American acts. Many other American acts did cancel that season for those reasons. Wheatus, however, carried through on all of the obligations they were able to that Autumn, and came through with one of the finest and most uplifting experiences human beings can have; enjoying live music together with the infamously wonderful rock fans of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. We are not faint of heart. We are not unwilling to go deep into debt in order to play on stages in the United Kingdom. We have done so, and will continue to as long as we are alive.

Sincerely,
Wheatus

Wheatus still are due to play the following dates:

Oct. 13: Exeter - The Hub
Oct. 14: Plymouth - The Hub
Oct. 15: Neath - Windsor Club
Oct. 17: Newport - TJs
Oct. 18: Coventry - Kasbah
Oct. 19: Tamworth - Assembly Rooms
Oct. 20: Manchester - Roadhouse
Oct. 21: Manchester - Roadhouse
Oct. 22: Glasgow - Rockers
Oct. 23: Glasgow - Rockers
Oct. 24: Edinburgh - Liquid Room
Oct. 26: Keighley - K2
Oct. 27: Scarborough - Vivaz:venue
Oct. 29: Leamington - The Assembly
Oct. 30: Worcester - The Marr's Bar
Oct. 31: Brighton - Freebutt
Nov. 1: London King's Cross - Monto Water Rats
Nov. 2: Southampton - The Joiners