Graeme Thomson

I agree with pop’s war on iPhones – but King Canute might want a word

Phone-banning is an entirely understandable attempt by artists to reassert their status. But the ship has sailed – pop gigs are now about the audience not the artist

Many artists no longer play new material live for fear that it will be instantly splashed over the internet, sounding as though is has been put through a washing machine. Image: Orbon Alija 
issue 12 October 2024

Before each show on the recent The The tour – reviewed in these pages last week – the pre-recorded voice of singer Matt Johnson politely asked the audience to refrain from using mobile phones when the band was performing. In Edinburgh, while Johnson was speaking, the chap next to me was preoccupied filming an empty stage.

A sea of screens can be priceless in a genuine emergency but that’s about it

As it happens, most of the crowd complied most of the time, but proscribing phone use at concerts is increasingly challenging.

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