Tuesday May 13, 11:17 AM

Red tape sees Kiwi rockers kicked out of UK

By NZPA New Zealand band Opshop have been kicked out of Britain, but for red tape not rock 'n' roll reasons.

Visa trouble forced them to cancel their Edinburgh show on Saturday, the first of a three-show, 10-day promotional tour, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Siren record label representative Tracy Magan said management thought Opshop could travel under the visa-waiver programme because they wouldn't be making any money during the tour.

But after rule changes the programme had "tightened up" significantly.

In the past three months there had been a 12 percent increase in expulsions, and bands from around the world had been caught short.

Ms Magan said visas were being sorted out and the band -- Jason Kerrison, Matt Treacy, Bobby Kennedy and Clint Harris -- would be back in the UK by the end of the week.

Their song Maybe is the most successful of all time on New Zealand radio.