Bobby Vylan Position on Glastonbury IDF Protest: "No Regrets"

Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Responses

This outspoken punk duo ignited significant debate when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. The chant was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, the band was released by its representation UTA, and the American government revoked the members' visas, forcing them to call off a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

In his first interview after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

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

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to overstate the significance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if 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 angered some conservative official or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Reaction and Broadcaster Comments

This artist claimed he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the exclamation, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance breached editorial standards in relation to offense and offence.

He told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan said.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that in some way the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his answer was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. 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 perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a spike in antisemitic events reported two days.

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Different Artists

As Vylan said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than others for voicing views about the conflict, the host brought up the Ireland-based band another band, who have also faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "because as with everything ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."