GHOST’s “No Phones” Policy Caused Some Massive Lines In England

Ghost has instituted a “no cellphones” policy for their current world tour. Fans have to put their phones into Yondr pouches provided by the venue before going into the show, and it seems like complaining has been kept to a minimum. Though the band’s April 20 show in Birmingham, UK saw lines of up to an hour and a half outside the venue, which a lot of people have reported was due to the phone ban.

One concertgoer on X even reported waiting over 90 minutes, saying: “Been queueing for Ghost for 1.5hrs and still not in. Ropes at 6:30 and band at 8? Who’s idea was that? It’s almost like Utilita Birmingham forgot there’s 16 thousand people to seat. Absolute shit show.”

Utilita Arena and Ghost have not yet commented on what happened and why the cell phone collecting took so long to get sorted.

So why isn’t anyone allowed to use their phone during the show? According to Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge in a recent interview with Planet Rock, it’s because Forge feels everyone was more connected with the music and having a better time when phones were banned during the Rite Here Rite Now filmings. So why not make that a universal experience?

“I really wanna underline that the ban has nothing to do with, let’s say, copyright control. It’s not that we wanna sit on all the material and we don’t want anybody to monetize [Ghost videos]; it has nothing to do with that.”

“Rite Here Rite Now, the film, the essence of messaging in that film was exactly that, but also I, but us collectively, working, making that film… We filmed two shows in L.A. in front of audiences where they had to put their phones into pockets. You don’t give it away. You have your phone; you don’t have to worry about that. If you need to call, you can go out. If you need to take a photo, you can take a photo of yourself out in the lobby; that’s fine.

“But what ended up happening was that we had such an engaged crowd that seemed joyous in a way that… I had to go back years and in time since I last saw a fully engaged crowd where everybody’s actually watching [the show]. They don’t have to watch me, but they’re watching the band.”

He continued: “I don’t wanna turn this into an ageist thing where I’m gonna tell 14-year-olds everything was better back then. But I swear that the experience of shows and the making of memories, the making of magic, was much more powerful. Some of the best shows I’ve ever been to, I have maybe not even seen a picture from that because they all live here [in my head]. They live in my core. That’s the memory I have of that.

“And that is an experience I wish for… Obviously, the part of our crowd that are older and more aware, maybe this becomes a little bit nostalgic then. But I really believe that the younger portion of our crowd will, as they did in L.A., come out saying, like, ‘That was not only a great concert; that was also an overwhelming experience.’ Because I do believe that you will feel that.”