Fans ready to ditch phones for Bob Dylan concert

Music legend Bob Dylan will be performing in Coventry

Fans of Bob Dylan are preparing to give up their phones for a night as they adhere to the legendary musician's concert rules.

Those attending the 84-year-old's show on Thursday are being asked to lock devices away in a special pouch - and people have had a mixed reaction.

Dylan, who is known for hit songs including The Times They Are A-Changin' and Like A Rolling Stone, is performing at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Adele and Jack White are among a growing number of artists who, like Dylan, want their audience to be completely absorbed in the show rather than concentrating on filming or taking pictures.

'Enjoy the moment'

Eva Seaton, from the city, said she records footage during concerts and posts it on social media and liked to look back at her videos "all the time".

"I don't see the harm in it, really. I am that person. I take snippets so that I can look back on the memories of the concert."

Another fan, Jack Rafferty, said: "You want to remember the gig at the end of the day, but I think currently there's a bit too much of it.

"You want to enjoy the moment and you're not really doing that if you're on your phone."

Mr Rafferty said he got it "100%" for some concerts by established performers, but said for newer, less popular artists, gig recordings become "a form of advertisement".

He said he rarely filmed a concert, adding: "I'd use it for one or two songs if that. I can take pictures but I'm not really a video-taker myself."

Mr Rafferty said: "I'd rather just watch. We went to Reading recently. You can see [phones] in the crowd, and I'm thinking, 'it's going to be on telly,' so I like to not look through a screen and watch it live."

Sarah Leader, senior vice-president of Yondr, which makes the pouches, said fans would be asked to place phones and other recording devices in a magnetic pouch, which would be locked.

Fans maintain possession of the pouch and the phone at all times, she said.

There will be phone-free zones available where the pouches can be unlocked and devices used, she added.

Fans will be asked to put their phones in a Yondr pouch

Music journalist Jo Kendall said the singing legend was not the first to enforce a phone ban.

However, Ms Leader said about 20 million people had now used a Yondr pouch at events.

"The fans talk to each other. They look at the stage instead of the screens and overall it's just a better show," she said.