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Kate Bush asks fans not to use phones or tablets at London comeback gigs
Singer joins growing backlash against filming performances, telling fans she wants to 'have contact with you as an audience'
Kate Bush is taking a stand against fans who want to watch her gigs while holding their phones in the air. Photograph: Beverley Goodway/Rex Features
Kate Bush has asked fans not to film her comeback gigs, which begin next week.
The singer said it would "mean a great deal to me" if people did not use their phones, tablets or cameras during the concerts.
The London gigs mark her return to the stage after three decades and are at the same venue – the Hammersmith Apollo – where in 1979 she effectively retired from live performances after six weeks on the road.
She was just 20 when she completed the Tour Of Life with three dates at what was then called the Hammersmith Odeon, after topping the charts with Wuthering Heights the previous year, becoming the first woman to go to number one singing one of her own songs.
Writing on her website, she said she was "very excited" about the shows and "working very hard in preparation".
She said: "I have a request for all of you who are coming to the shows. We have purposefully chosen an intimate theatre setting rather than a large venue or stadium. It would mean a great deal to me if you would please refrain from taking photos or filming during the shows.
"I very much want to have contact with you as an audience, not with iPhones, iPads or cameras. I know it's a lot to ask but it would allow us to all share in the experience together."
Roger Daltrey said fans who spent gigs staring at their phone screens were 'weird'. Photograph: Kc Alfred/Reuters
Bush is not the first musician to criticise gig-goers who spend their time engrossed in their mobile devices rather than actually watching the show.
The Who frontman Roger Daltrey recently said it was "weird" that people did not have their mind on the show when they had gone to a performance and were concentrating on staring at the screen rather than the artist on stage.
He said: "I feel sorry for them, I really feel sorry for them. Looking at life through a screen and not being in the moment totally – if you're doing that, you're 50% there, right? It's weird. I find it weird."
The performance artist Marina Abramović barred phones and cameras from her exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London in order for visitors to focus on the art she was creating.
Kate Bush asks fans not to use phones or tablets at London comeback gigs | Music | theguardian.com
Singer joins growing backlash against filming performances, telling fans she wants to 'have contact with you as an audience'
Kate Bush is taking a stand against fans who want to watch her gigs while holding their phones in the air. Photograph: Beverley Goodway/Rex Features
Kate Bush has asked fans not to film her comeback gigs, which begin next week.
The singer said it would "mean a great deal to me" if people did not use their phones, tablets or cameras during the concerts.
The London gigs mark her return to the stage after three decades and are at the same venue – the Hammersmith Apollo – where in 1979 she effectively retired from live performances after six weeks on the road.
She was just 20 when she completed the Tour Of Life with three dates at what was then called the Hammersmith Odeon, after topping the charts with Wuthering Heights the previous year, becoming the first woman to go to number one singing one of her own songs.
Writing on her website, she said she was "very excited" about the shows and "working very hard in preparation".
She said: "I have a request for all of you who are coming to the shows. We have purposefully chosen an intimate theatre setting rather than a large venue or stadium. It would mean a great deal to me if you would please refrain from taking photos or filming during the shows.
"I very much want to have contact with you as an audience, not with iPhones, iPads or cameras. I know it's a lot to ask but it would allow us to all share in the experience together."
Roger Daltrey said fans who spent gigs staring at their phone screens were 'weird'. Photograph: Kc Alfred/Reuters
Bush is not the first musician to criticise gig-goers who spend their time engrossed in their mobile devices rather than actually watching the show.
The Who frontman Roger Daltrey recently said it was "weird" that people did not have their mind on the show when they had gone to a performance and were concentrating on staring at the screen rather than the artist on stage.
He said: "I feel sorry for them, I really feel sorry for them. Looking at life through a screen and not being in the moment totally – if you're doing that, you're 50% there, right? It's weird. I find it weird."
The performance artist Marina Abramović barred phones and cameras from her exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London in order for visitors to focus on the art she was creating.
Kate Bush asks fans not to use phones or tablets at London comeback gigs | Music | theguardian.com
