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Kate Bush has tried to politely ban fans from taking photos and video at her upcoming London gigs – her first since 1979.

The Wuthering Heights star, 56, said 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.

(Image: PA)

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.”

Bush is not the first musician to criticise gig-goers who spend their time engrossed in using 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.”

Performance artist Marin Abramovic recently barred visitors to her exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London from bringing in their devices in order for them to focus on the art she was creating.

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