“No one seems to understand why artists don’t like it”

Chrissie Hynde has criticised gig-goers’ use of mobile phones at live shows, calling it a “weird compulsion that people can’t control”.

The soloist and frontwoman of The Pretenders discussed her issues with ticketholders capturing photos and videos during performances in a post on social media yesterday (Tuesday June 2).

“Question: What is it with people and their phones? Why do people have to know how many steps they take every day? What difference does it make?” she began on the wider subject of phones’ tracking capabilities.

“But my real question is: why do people have to film or take pictures at concerts or museums? Why???

“I was lucky enough to have dinner with Emmylou Harris (goddess) the day before her London show at the Albert Hall. Our conversation naturally turned to people on their phones at concerts.”

Hynde went on: “This is a subject that comes up every time I meet any artist. It’s become like an unpleasant fug hanging over the head of all artists.

“You can plaster a venue with signs requesting ‘NO CAMERAS’ but people don’t respect it. It’s as if people feel entitled, even though the artist clearly has asked them not to do it.”

However, the singer said she was not referring to big “pop artists who encourage this practice because they want to be on social media”.

“Bob Dylan ensures that phones are sealed in a bag before a show. You would think an artist of his stature could make a simple request and the audience would respect it… no chance,” she added.

“People will still sneak in a camera or a phone. It’s like a weird compulsion that people can’t control.”

Hi All!

XCH pic.twitter.com/KnI3f2rpks

— Chrissie Hynde (@ChrissieHynde) June 2, 2026

Hynde wrote: “It reminds me of monkeys wanking in full view of the people standing around their enclosures.. and frankly, in that case, people deserve to be wanked at because monkeys should not be in an enclosure in the first place.. however, an artist on a stage?”

She said that “no one seems to be able to understand why artists don’t like” being captured on phones mid-gig, continuing: “If you’ve ever had a mosquito buzzing around your head when you’re trying to go to sleep, you will get a vague idea of what it’s like to have people filming your show or taking photos while you’re on stage..

“And then after having the conversation with Emmy, the minute her show started at the Albert Hall, a guy in front of me started filming it on his phone. So the concert was obscured by the bright light of his phone throughout the whole show..

“(Some did eventually tell him that he was being rude and his filming was distracting. His response was, ‘mind your own business’).”

Hynde shared: “It happened when I went to see Sarah Snook do her one-woman show The Picture Of Dorian Gray. A woman sitting in the front row pulled her phone out and started filming it.. unbelievable. And museums!”

She went on to say that she doesn’t “bother” visiting exhibitions anymore following a “nightmare experience at the Van Gogh retrospective”.

“Morons holding their phones up in front of the masterpieces so that no one could see them. I wanted to cry,” Hynde recalled.

“My conclusion is: if Jesus Christ were to walk into a room, the first thing everyone would do would be to pull out their phone. Can someone please explain?”

In 2024, Hynde issued somewhat of an apology to fans after sharing a set of rules for returning concertgoers. She had previously told regular fans at her shows not to hog the front row and to stop using their phones.

“First of all, I’m sorry that I’ve never adjusted to the phone/filming/picture taking culture,” the artist explained at the time. “I’ve sworn and berated the very audience that is there for us. There’s no way to explain how distracting it is and why I have a meltdown when I see a phone.

“Every night I come off stage scolding myself and saying it’s just no worth it and maybe it’s time to hang up the guitar and find a new vocation.”

Hynde reportedly lashed out at an audience who were filming a gig on their phones in 2017, too, calling them “c**ts”, flipping them off, and storming off stage. As she exited, Hynde reportedly cocked her leg and remarked: “Take a picture of that.”

Late last year, the operator of a Bob Dylan fan site claimed that he was ejected from one of the icon’s shows because he had been recirculating live photos and footage from Dylan’s tour.

As Hynde referred to in her new post, the use of video cameras and mobile phones was strictly prohibited at the singer-songwriter’s concerts.

Other major artists to have banned phones at their gigs in recent years include Jack White, Placebo, Ghost and Tool. Last summer, Sabrina Carpenter said she had considered implementing a phone ban at her shows, even though it would “honestly piss off” her fans. Then, this March, Harry Styles played a one-off phone-free date in Manchester.

Speaking to NME recently, Billie Eilish defended young fans’ use of phones during live performances. “When I was young and would go to concerts or festivals, I would film every single minute of it – and then I would watch every single video that I took over and over until I even had the audio of the crowd memorised,” she said. “I think that’s not to be pooh-poohed. An important part of the culture is that we are all on our goddamn phones! It keeps us connected. It does!”

Damon Albarn said in 2024 that he was opposed to the no-phone rule at live events: “If you start banning things where does it end?”

Chrissie Hynde released a star-studded covers album, ‘Duets Special’, last autumn. More recently, she provided backing vocals on Paul McCartney’s single ‘Home To Us’, featuring Ringo Starr.