Sulumani Chimbetu prematurely ended his United Kingdom tour after a misunderstanding with tour promoter.
Chimbetu and his band arrived back in the country on Tuesday afternoon. The musician left the country last Wednesday and held two shows in Leicester and Dunstable over the weekend before falling out with the promoter.
His other show which was scheduled for Leeds on Saturday has been cancelled.
Although Chimbetu’s management in the UK could not give further details of the misunderstanding, his brother and assistant manager Ali, said the bone of contention was remuneration.
“The promoter did not do as he had promised. It seems they had not finalised their preparations in time and the band ended up struggling to make ends meet. We would have wanted to continue with the tour but the situation was unbearable,” said Ali.
Chimbetu’s UK manager, Bonnie Jana, noted in a statement that issues leading to the cancellation of the tour were beyond their control.
“The promoters of this tour, Dairai Promotions, entered into an agreement to bring Sulumani to UK. As with the requirements of the UK border agency and also to our satisfaction, they provided a written contract, proof of hotel bookings, and proof of venues and paid the required deposit,” noted Jana.
“It must be noted that Sulumani performed in Leicester and Dunstable and both shows were made possible by the promoter. However, the promoters breached the contract in some way and we eventually made a decision not to perform at the London venue until outstanding issues were addressed. Sulumani and his management were at the venue until the decision to quit the tour was made.”
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The promoters of the show also posted a statement about the issue on their website.
“The promoters of the Sulumani Chimbetu ‘Non Stop Tour UK’ and Official Independence Party and his UK management wish to advise all fans of Sulumani in the United Kingdom that after an agreement with the artist, and the bad publicity following the London Show, they made a decision last night to reschedule the rest of the shows. This was after a meeting of all the three parties,” read part of the statement.
