AN ISLE of Wight band narrowly escaped limbo in North America ­— after their tour was cancelled on the way to Montreal.

Ryde punk band, Grade 2 ­— comprised of members, Jack Chatfield, Sid Ryan and Jacob Hull ­— had barely made it to North America when they received the news.

The trip was set to encompass three separate tour, back-to-back, with a total of 48 shows spread out over a three month period.

"We played the first show of the tour in Ottawa, Canada, on March 11," said band member, Jack Chatfield.

"It was a sold out show, supporting Anti-Flag, and the crowd response was incredible.

"Then, the second day, on our way to Montreal, just before getting to the venue we received a call from our manager to tell us all public gatherings of more than 250 people were banned.

"We spent a week crashing at a friends house just outside Toronto, waiting to hear updates in hope that the rest of the tour could carry on.

"By the time we realised we would have to go home we weren't sure if we even could.

"Canada was in a state of emergency and closing borders left and right.

"We found the earliest flight we could afford, and we could only afford it by the skin of our teeth, and booked it straight away.

"The morning of the day we flew, I received an email from the airline explaining how they had started cancelling international flights.

"At that point, I was pretty terrified we might actually be stranded in Canada with no money and nowhere to stay, but fortunately the flight we were on was one of the ones that wasn't cancelled.

"Thankfully, we eventually made it back home safe, but lost out on the biggest opportunity of our lives ­— not to mention thousands of pounds on the money that was invested into the tour.

To listen to Grade 2, who formed at Ryde Academy in 2013, go to www.grade2official.co.uk