🔗 Share this article

Punk duo lead singer Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Responses

The outspoken music duo sparked significant debate when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer performance. This chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the American state department revoked the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first public discussion since the festival show, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the criticism the band faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their backing, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Comments

The musician said he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

He told Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the politics of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After asked what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to permit that protest to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

"I don't think I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

As he mentioned he thought the band had been targeted more severely than others for voicing views about the conflict, the host brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "because as with everything race becomes a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."