{"id":39882,"date":"2025-04-22T02:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T02:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/39882\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T02:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T02:24:11","slug":"thousands-of-ghost-fans-left-queuing-in-birmingham-due-to-bands-strict-phone-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/39882\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Ghost fans left queuing in Birmingham due to band&#8217;s strict phone rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/ghost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ghost<\/a> fans lined Birmingham yesterday as the band\u2019s strict phone rule caused long queues.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-content-read-more\">\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/music-interviews\/tobias-forge-interview-new-material-future-of-ghost-black-sabbath-metal-scene-3847292\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tobias Forge on new material and the future of Ghost: \u201cIf fans need the lore to like the band, that element will be over quite soon\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Last night (April 20), the Swedish group bought their largest ever UK \u2018Skeletour\u2019 concert to Birmingham\u2019s Utilita Arena. Due to their implementation of a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/tobias-forge-on-ghosts-phone-free-rule-for-2025-world-tour-its-so-hard-to-get-people-to-engage-3844635\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0\u201cphone-free\u201d rule for their 2025 tour<\/a> \u2013 designed to force fans to be present and engage with their live show \u2013 footage of the gig is nowhere to be found on social media.<\/p>\n<p>However, many took to X\/Twitter before the gig to report winding queues as they tried to get into the venue. As was later reported by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.birminghammail.co.uk\/whats-on\/music-nightlife-news\/thousands-line-canal-streets-birmingham-31478861\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> BirminghamLive<\/a>, the lines went from the Utilita Arena all the way towards the Library of Birmingham and up along the canal in the opposite direction as fans waited to have their bags searched.<\/p>\n<p>While some <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/loadedgvnns\/status\/1913914535813042302\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the no phones rule made the gig \u201ceven more special\u201d, others were frustrated by the \u201cabsolute shit show\u201d organisation, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Fluffy_Pickle_\/status\/1914035771784208788\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">adding<\/a>: \u201cIt\u2019s almost like Utilita Birmingham forgot there\u2019s 16 thousand people to seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The line for last nights show at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UtilitaArenaBHM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@UtilitaArenaBHM<\/a> \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n<p>Video by tobiasforgefansbrazil <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SKELETOUR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#SKELETOUR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M5sbE8Ylgq\">pic.twitter.com\/M5sbE8Ylgq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SKELETOUR 2025 (@GhostWorldTour) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GhostWorldTour\/status\/1914247009772458198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Holy shit. The queue to get in to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thebandGHOST?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@thebandGHOST<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UtilitaArenaBHM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@UtilitaArenaBHM<\/a> reaches up to the Library of Birmingham and as far as the eye can see every direction. I have never seen anything like this before in my whole life of coming to gigs in town \ud83e\udd2f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Sr1RHXtwFY\">pic.twitter.com\/Sr1RHXtwFY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kirsty Bosley (@Bozzers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bozzers\/status\/1914019838424502273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Ghost at the Utilita Arena Birmingham played:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Peacefield\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Lachryma\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Spirit\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Faith\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Majesty\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018The Future Is a Foreign Land\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Devil Church\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Cirice\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Darkness at the Heart of My Love\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Satanized\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Ritual\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Umbra\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Year Zero\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018He Is\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Rats\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Kiss the Go-Goat\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Mummy Dust\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Monstrance Clock\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Encore:<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Mary on a Cross\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Dance Macabre\u2019<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2018Square Hammer\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Recently, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/music-interviews\/tobias-forge-interview-new-material-future-of-ghost-black-sabbath-metal-scene-3847292\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">appearing as the latest guest on\u00a0NME\u2018s\u00a0In Conversation series<\/a>, frontman Tobias Forge discussed how Birmingham\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/black-sabbath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Black Sabbath<\/a> \u201chave been a tremendous influence\u201d on him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOzzy as a frontman and Ozzy as a solo artist is something I put a divide between, because I grew up in the \u201880s where he was much more of a rockstar than Black Sabbath were. I gravitated towards that, but I also grew up listening to the old Black Sabbath records,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNowadays, I love most Black Sabbath releases. Even the \u201880s and \u201890s albums, I love them for what they are, and the Dio era also has a very special place in my heart, too. \u2018Vol. 4\u2019, \u2018Sabbath Bloody Sabbath\u2019 and \u2018Sabotage\u2019 have been absolute milestones for me for as long as I\u2019ve been writing music. They\u2019ve been very influential, even though it might not be super evident. I\u2019ve always listened to them, and I\u2019ve always been inspired by them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The frontman of the Swedish occult metal band is slated to play at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/Ozzy-Osbourne\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>\u00a0and co\u2019s final\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/black-sabbath-final-show-birmingham-july-2025-metalla-slayer-pantera-line-up-tickets-3835042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concert at Villa Park in the latter\u2019s hometown of Birmingham<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday July 5 as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/ghost-tease-new-frontman-papa-v-perpetua-with-las-vegas-billboard-v-is-coming-3842804\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Papa Perpetua<\/a>. The upcoming show will see Black Sabbath\u2019s most iconic line-up \u2013 comprising Osbourne, guitarist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/tony-iommi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tony Iommi<\/a>, bassist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/geezer-butler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geezer Butler<\/a>\u00a0and drummer Bill Ward \u2013 play live together for the first time in two decades.<\/p>\n<p>The stacked line-up also includes the likes of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/Metallica\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Metallica<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/Slayer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slayer<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/Pantera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pantera<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/Lamb-Of-God\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lamb Of God<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/mastodon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mastodon<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/Alice-In-Chains\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alice In Chains<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/halestorm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Halestorm<\/a>, recent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/tag\/grammys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grammy<\/a>-winners\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/gojira\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gojira,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/guns-n-roses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Guns \u2018N\u2019 Roses<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/tool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0Tool<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/jason-momoa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jason Momoa<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/rival-sons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rival Sons.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ghost are set to continue on their run of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/ghost-announce-2025-world-tour-with-shows-in-the-uk-europe-us-and-north-america-buy-tickets-3807064\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European tour dates<\/a> in the coming weeks, and you can check out a full list of dates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/ghost-are-teasing-new-frontman-papa-v-perpetua-3835158\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>\u00a0and visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ticketmaster-uk.tm7559.net\/c\/2862475\/431519\/7559?sharedid=NME&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.co.uk%2Fghost-tickets%2Fartist%2F1878819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> to purchase any remaining tickets.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of Ghost fans lined Birmingham yesterday as the band\u2019s strict phone rule caused long queues. READ MORE:\u00a0Tobias&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,3981,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-39882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-metal","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114379244396115930","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}