Kate Bush tickets selling for upwards of £1,000 outside London gigs

The British singer took to the stage last night for the first time in 35 years

Kate Bush performs her comeback gigs at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London (Rex Features)

Kate Bush’s triumphant comeback at London’s Hammersmith Apollo was greeted with ecstatic cheers last night, but outside, tickets were being touted for up to ten times their face value.

Fans began queuing outside the venue in the rain from early on Tuesday morning, many bearing placards announcing their desperation for a ticket.

Kate Bush, gig review

Most hopefuls were prepared to pay around £200, but reports suggest some tickets were changing hands for upwards of £1,000.

Prior to her first of 22 gigs, tickets had been shifting online for similarly astronomic prices. Ticket marketplace Viagogo has tickets available from £370 to £800, while fans can head to Gumtree to nab some from £145 each.

The catch comes in the strict photo ID policy in place to repel the touts. The original buyer’s name appears on tickets and this must match the ID of the person entering the venue – a detail that many missed during the frantic booking process.

To get round the issue, some sellers were seen accompanying buyers into the show to ensure they got their money’s worth.

Original tickets went on sale in March for prices ranging from £49 to £135 plus booking fee, depending on where fans wanted to sit. They sold out in under 15 minutes, leaving thousands disappointed.

Those in attendance, some of whom had come from far flung places, had been waiting 35 years to see the “Running Up That Hill” singer live after she played the last date on her only real tour in 1979 aged 20.

Bush was “completely overwhelmed” by the positive response to the “musical event of the decade” and requested that gig-goers refrain from recording her performance on their iPhones.

“I very much want to have contact with you as an audience,” she wrote on her official website.

For the most part, her wish was respected and few photos and videos were taken.

Celebrities in the audience included Bjork, David Bowie, Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, Derren Brown, Caitlin Moran, Lauren Laverne and Lily Allen.