Fans jump to their feet as Kate Bush returns to stage

Singer Kate Bush was greeted by a massive roar as she returned to the stage last night – 35 years after her last, and only, tour.

The crowd took to their feet as Bush (56), dressed in black, led a procession of backing singers on stage and launched into Lily.

Bush was kicking off her Before The Dawn “tour” – 22 shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in west London, the venue where she effectively retired from live performances after six weeks on the road in 1979.

More than 80,000 tickets for the singer’s comeback gigs sold out in less than 15 minutes after they were announced in March and there was huge excitement among fans in the run-up to the first night, which has been described “the musical event of the decade”.

Tickets were advertised online for more than £1,000 – and five of Bush’s albums have re-entered the Top 100.

Bush had asked fans not to take photos or film during the shows: “We have purposefully chosen an intimate theatre setting rather than a large venue or stadium.

“It would mean a great deal to me if you would please refrain from taking photos or filming during the shows.

“I very much want to have contact with you as an audience, not with iPhones, iPads or cameras. I know it’s a lot to ask but it would allow us to all share in the experience together.”

Bush, a doctor’s daughter from Kent, was just 20 when she completed The Tour Of Life with three dates at what was then called the Hammersmith Odeon.

She had topped the charts with Wuthering Heights the previous year, becoming the first woman to go to number one singing one of her own songs.

Sales figures from the Official Charts Company show that all nine studio albums and two compilations have been given a sales boost by her return. Her greatest hits collection The Whole Story, which hit number one on its release in 1986, is currently number eight, followed by 1985's Hounds Of Love at Number 14.

Over the years, theories about her absence from the stage have included her perfectionism, a fear of flying and the death of one of the tour crew, lighting director Bill Duffield, during a show.

But in a rare interview with Mojo magazine in 2011 to mark a comeback from one of her lengthy recording silences, she explained that her years of absence from the touring circuit were simply down to the sheer exertion of the ordeal. Her shows relied heavily on dance and mime.

”It was enormously enjoyable. But physically it was absolutely exhausting,” she said.

For long periods she has largely withdrawn from public life to bring up her son, Bertie. – (AP)