Cliff Notes – Bob Dylan fans will be forced to follow controversial rule at UK 2025 tour
- Bob Dylan has announced a 13-date tour in the UK and Ireland for November 2025, with a strict ban on mobile phones during performances.
- Fans will be required to store their phones in Yondr pouches, which lock upon entry and unlock only in designated areas outside the concert venue.
- This phone-free policy aligns with a growing trend among artists like Nick Cave and Jack White, who advocate for an authentic live music experience without distractions.
Bob Dylan fans will be forced to follow controversial rule at UK 2025 tour
Bob Dylan has just announced fresh UK and Ireland 2025 dates, but fans will not be allowed to film the concert in fear of more support for Palestine.
Bob Dylan has just announced his return to the UK and Ireland for a 13-date tour, for which mobile phones will be banned.
Following a successful run of gigs last year that included three nights at the Royal Albert Hall, the 84-year-old has announced performances in Dublin, Glasgow and Swansea, as well as Brighton, Leeds and Coventry as part of his Rough And Rowdy Ways world tour, which has been running since November 2021.
As is tradition for the Blowin’ In The Wind hitmaker, shows will be phone-free, and people will be asked to put their phones in a Yondr pouch, which closes automatically when in the venue and unlocks in the venue’s concourse.
He is not the only musician to oppose incessant phone use at gigs, as Nick Cave and Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde have both spoken out against the trend, advocating for a true live experience.
Other musicians including Jack White and Alicia Keys have also taken steps to reduce smartphone usage at their concerts.
Phones were discussed this last week in relation to Oasis’ historic return to the stage after 16 years, which saw fans film key moments and plaster them on social media.
Bob’s career began in 1962 with his single Mixed-Up Confusion
Research from UK electronics website Compare and Recycle estimated 17.3 million minutes of Oasis’ 33-gig tour will be recorded on phones.
That’s the equivalent to 33 years of non-stop Oasis recordings.
Dylan’s announcement comes amid a surge in interest in the Hurricane singer’s career, following the release of the biopic A Complete Unknown last year, which starred Timothee Chalamet as Dylan and followed the story of his career beginnings and infamous decision to go electric in the mid-1960s.
His recent setlists from Texas gigs last week include songs like Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, I Can Tell and Under the Red Sky.
The singer is one of the most acclaimed songwriters of all time, winning 10 Grammys and being nominated on 38 further occasions. Dylan has had six UK top 10 singles and nine UK number one albums.
Bob Dylan’s 2025 UK and Ireland tour in full
November 7 – Brighton Centre, Brighton
November 9 – Building Society Arena, Swansea
November 10 – Building Society Arena, Swansea
November 11 – Building Society Arena, Swansea
November 13 – Building Society Arena, Coventry
November 14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
November 16 – Armadillo, Glasgow
November 17 – Armadillo, Glasgow
November 19 – Waterfront, Belfast
November 20 – Waterfront, Belfast
November 23 – INEC, Killarney
November 24 – INEC, Killarney
November 25 – 3Arena, Dublin
He’s now the subject of a major biopic, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet
He began his career in 1962 with the single Mixed-Up Confusion, which failed to chart in the UK and US.
But he shot to stardom with a string of successful singles in 1965, including The Times They Are A-Changin’, Subterranean Homesick Blues and Like A Rolling Stone.
He was the first songwriter to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, with the Swedish academy crediting him with “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.
Dylan’s songs have been covered by the likes of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Rolling Stones and Adele.
Tickets for the tour will go on sale on Friday July 18 at 10am.
