Ghost’s Tobias Forge has explained the band’s “phone-free” rule for their 2025 world tour, saying it’s “so hard to get people to engage”.
Back in October, the Swedish metal band announced a 55-date tour that will kick off in Manchester’s AO Arena on April 15 and run throughout the UK, Europe and North America, rounding off in Mexico City on September 24. Find any remaining tickets here.
At the time of the announcement, Ghost made it clear that the shows will be “phone-free experiences”, explaining that audience members’ mobile phones would be secured in Yondr pouches, so that they maintain possession of their phones at all times.
Now, in an interview with Loudwire Nights, frontman Forge opened up about the policy, saying “we want [fans] to be there in the moment”.
He explained that the first time they tried it in Los Angeles, the crowd was “phenomenal”, despite finding it “hard” to get modern crowds to “engage” with the show.
“We came off the first night and were just blown away that these people were so engaged,” he added. “The face value of not seeing phones was literally like time travel. I’m not talking about like back to the ’80s, I’m talking about maybe 10 years back in time when people were generally not filming as much, whereas now in modern times it’s just ridiculous. If you’re playing in front of 10,000 people, 8,000 people are holding a phone. I wish it was like this all the time.”
“There is something intuitive about having fun together in a group, being there … I really think, hope and believe that people will find this slightly more enjoyable not than every show you’ve seen, but more enjoyable than standing in the back, seeing 1,000 screens and the band in the back.”
They are not the first artist to opt for a phone-free policy at gigs – last year, Bob Dylan announced a very similar scheme for his UK tour, while Jack White did the same for a run of shows in 2018.
Earlier this week, Ghost announced their new album ‘Skeletá’, complete with Forge’s latest new incarnation Papa V Perpetua. They also shared the album’s first single ‘Satanized’, which you can listen to above. The album is set for release on April 25 via Loma Vista and available for pre-order here.
“We wish to inform you that with just a few plumes of smoke our PERPETUAL state of anticipation has subsided. We learned patience is key to opening any door in life. Let us celebrate the crowning of Papa V Perpetua and the announcement of Ghost’s six-six-sixth psalm, ‘Skeletá’,” a new teaser read.
In addition to the upcoming tour, Papa Perpetua will also be appearing as part of the line-up for Black Sabbath’s final ever show in Villa Park, Birmingham on July 5.
Last year, Alex Ross Perry, who directed the band’s film RITE HERE RITE NOW, spoke about the story of Ghost with NME. “Ghost as a band is like a planet and the story is like the moon. The moon is not part of the planet, but it orbits the planet,” he said. “The songs and the meanings are thematically connected to what Ghost are pursuing, but they’re not creating a rock opera about these family dynamics of mothers, sons and fathers. I think for fans, it’s like getting two meals instead of one.”
