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Kate Bush concert tickets sell out to touts in 15 minutes

31 Mar 14 | Re: Box office smash | Link-U-Post

Tickets for Kate Bush’s first live shows in 35 years have sold out in less than 15 minutes, to touts.

Tickets for the 22 dates at London’s Hammersmith Apollo went on sale at 09:30 GMT on Friday morning when most real customers would have been at work ‒ prime time for organised touts.

The star said she was “completely overwhelmed by the response”. “Thank you so much to ticket touts everywhere,” she added.

The Before the Dawn concerts, which take place this August and September, mark a bonanza for touts, being the singer’s first return to the stage since The Tour Of Life in 1979.

Demand from touts was so high that the singer’s own website, as well as some ticket-selling sites, crashed as the questionably ethical entrepreneurs, and their many agents and bots, tried to log on.

The BBC’s Colin Paterson reported that tickets with a laughable face value of £135 were already being offered on sale by touts on secondary ticketing sites for more than £1000, representing the true amount that could be squeezed out of genuine punters.

Bush was just 20 when she completed her one and only tour, a year after topping the charts with Wuthering Heights.

The six-week tour, which travelled around Britain and mainland Europe, ended at the Hammersmith Odeon.

Additional shows

Following the initial announcement of 15 dates last week, seven more dates were added in response to “massive pre-sale demand” from touts.

“Kate decided to add the extra shows in a bid to make sure as many people who wish to see a show can do so,” said the official statement, “provided they stump up a grand to a tout.”

A spokesman for Ticketmaster UK described the tout-led demand for tickets as “phenomenal”.

“At our peak, the Ticketmaster website had over 65,000 automated bot programs looking for tickets on behalf of over 12 touting organisations,” said Simon Presswell.

“Despite playing 22 dates, demand from touts has significantly exceeded the number of tickets available so regrettably a number of fans will be left disappointed, and all will have to pay over the odds.”

Bush, whose hits include Running Up That Hill and Babooshka, last released an album in 2011 ‒ the Brit-nominated 50 Words For Snow.

The 55-year-old singer received a CBE for services to music last year.

(via BBC News)

Posted by MAXIMILIAN II at 22:32

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