[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

This news is over a week old, but I forgot to post it upon initial reading.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010...bob-dylan-gigs

Originally Posted by guardian.uk

China blocks Bob Dylan gigs

Bob Dylan's planned tour of east Asia called off after Chinese officials refuse him permission to play in Beijing and Shanghai

 

Bob Dylan performing in 2002. Photograph: Gary Hershorn/Reuters

Aged 68 and almost half a century past the zenith of his angry, protest-song youth, Bob Dylan must almost have forgotten what it was like to be deemed a threat to society. But it seems at least one place still sees him as a dangerous radical.
Dylan's planned tour of east Asia later this month has been called off after Chinese officials refused permission for him to play in Beijing and Shanghai, his local promoters said. China's ministry of culture, which vets planned concerts by overseas artists, appeared wary of Dylan's past as an icon of the counterculture movement, said Jeffrey Wu, of the Taiwan-based promoters Brokers Brothers Herald.
Dylan fans denied the chance to see their hero might also blame Björk, who caused consternation among Chinese officials two years ago by shouting pro-Tibet slogans at a concert in Shanghai, Wu told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.
The verdict scuppers Dylan's plans to play his first dates in mainland China. The singer, who plays around 100 concerts a year on his Never Ending Tour, had hoped to extend a multi-city Japanese leg with concerts in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong. All these would now be called off, Wu told the newspaper.
"With Beijing and China ruled out, it was not possible for him just to play concerts in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan," he said. "The chance to play in China was the main attraction for him. When that fell through everything else was called off."
Wu said officials had become more cautious since Björk, the Icelandic singer, chanted "Tibet! Tibet!" after performing a song called Declare Independence in Shanghai in 2008. China has ruled Tibet since invading it in 1950 and views the Himalayan territory as an integral part of its national territory.
"What Björk did definitely made life very difficult for other performers. They are very wary of what will be said by performers on stage now," Wu said.
Last year, Oasis were told they were "unsuitable" to play in Beijing and Shanghai as Noel Gallagher had appeared at a Tibet freedom concert 12 years earlier.

[Genteel Death]

FUCK YEAH!!

[SONIC GAIL]

I love Dylan so much. One of the only shows I have been to was his. It was great. China is missin out man.

[finding nobody]

bologna
bjork. fucking things up for bob dylan

[atsonicpark]

Cool, hopefully they block him in America too.

[Silent Dan Speaks]

After seeing him about two years ago, I can only say that it's probably for the best that he's banned there. There's no need to subject people to that kind of suffering.

[FreshChops]

he's looking a lot like Willy Wonka

[hevusa]

Originally Posted by finding nobody

bologna
bjork. fucking things up for bob dylan

bjork?

[DanielCarlson]

It's kinda painful to see/hear him live today. Watched him last year and it wasn't worth half of the money I paid.

But still. You don't do this to Bob Dylan. Fuck China.

[demonrail666]

wouldn't he need to be subtitled in china anyway?

[automatic bzooty]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

wouldn't he need to be subtitled in china anyway?

he's needed subtitles since 1965