‘Live in the moment’: Ellie Goulding wants her gig-goers to put their phones away

The singer wants her fans to ‘live in the moment’

Ellie Goulding wants her fans to put their phones away while they’re at her concerts.

The singer told her gig-goers that it’s because she wants them to “live in the moment”.

Goulding explained that she was inspired after seeing old footage of people enjoying a gig, who were “feeling free” and enjoying themselves without any technology.

While performing her gig at KOKO in Camden, north London, earlier this week Goulding, addressed the crowd.

"Put them in your pockets,” she told fans.

“I looked back at old festival and gig footage and everyone is just living in the moment and feeling free,” reports The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column.

She even asked one fan who was on a video call to “say goodbye” to their friend.

"I appreciate you are on FaceTime but say goodbye, I love you and thank you for watching,” Goulding reportedly said.

Goulding recently announced the delay of her forthcoming album Higher Than Heaven due to other projects. The record will now be released on 24 March.

Ellie Goulding asks fans to ditch their phones at gigs (Getty Images for Bauer)

The singer did, however, last week release her new single “Like a Saviour”, which will be on the new album.

Announcing the delay in the album, she thanked fans for their “patience” and for “bearing with her”.

“I know you’ve all been so patient with me but we’ve had some exciting opportunities appear behind the scenes, which I cannot wait to share with you in due course,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.

You can read The Independent’s 2020 interview with Ellie Goulding here.