Watch me, not your mobile, Kate Bush
urges fans amid worry over recording

The Wuthering Heights star claimed it would “mean a great deal to me” if people did not use their phones or computers during the concerts. Mobile phone technology and home computing were in their infancy when she last performed live in 1979.

The London gigs mark her return to the stage more than three decades later and at the same venue, the Hammersmith Apollo, where 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.

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.”

She has joined a growing number of musicians who have urged fans to focus on performances – rather than filming them on mobile phones.

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey and Prince both criticised gig-goers who spend their time engrossed in their mobile devices rather than actually watching gigs. Daltrey said it was “weird” people did not have their mind on the show, while Prince urged fans not to film his performances, including a gig at the First Direct Arena in Leeds in May.