KATE Bush is set to perform her first concert in 35 years tonight.
The second-generation Irish singer – who is featured in tomorrow’s Irish Post - has not played live since her first and only tour ended at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 1979.
One of Britain's most influential artists, she is now returning to the same venue for 22 dates. All shows sold out within minutes in March.
The 56-year-old star has asked fans not to take photos or record footage during the shows, posting on her website: "I very much want to have contact with you as an audience, not with iPhones, iPads or cameras."
The singer has kept tonight’s set list under wraps but fans expect the Before The Dawn gigs to feature highly choreographed theatricals.
Bush's new shows are expected to include The Ninth Wave, a suite of songs from her bestselling 1985 album Hounds of Love about a woman washed over the side of a ship.
A publicity shot shows her in a lifejacket floating in water, looking up at the camera as if waiting to be rescued.
The singer is reported to have spent three days in a flotation tank at Pinewood Studios to create the special effects.
For a full in-depth look at Kate Bush’s Irish background see this week’s Irish Post, out tomorrow.