China bans Kraftwerk from festival over Tibet show

China has forbidden German electronic band Kraftwerk from performing at a music festival, more than a decade after they appeared on the bill of a Free Tibet concert. Modern Sky records, a Chinese music company, applied to the Culture Ministry for permission for the band to play at the annual Strawberry Festival in Beijing next month. “Kraftwerk were not allowed to play ... because they participated in a Free Tibet concert,” said a source at the firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “We had already arranged the show, it’s a pity they can’t come, it’s a great shame.” Kraftwerk achieved fame in the 1970s as pioneers of electronic pop music and were scheduled to appear at a high-profile “Free Tibet” concert in Washington D.C. in 1998. The band pulled out after the show was afflicted by bad weather. China’s Culture Ministry has a long-standing policy of refusing permission to acts that have voiced support for Tibetan independence, several sources with knowledge of the matter told AFP. No one from the ministry was available for comment Thursday. British indie-rock band Travis will headline the festival, the state-run Global Times said Thursday, reporting that Kraftwerk had been chosen to top the bill but the arrangement collapsed because of “political reasons.” News of the ban on the German band comes ahead of the first Chinese performance by U.K. punk rocker John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, who is set to play in Beijing Saturday with his band Public Image Ltd.