Bobby Vylan Position on Glastonbury IDF Chant: "No Remorse"

The lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Responses

The outspoken punk duo sparked significant debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer performance. This slogan 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 UTA, and the American state department revoked the artists' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a planned North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his first public discussion since the festival show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the duo encountered was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

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

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Feedback

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

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit subsequently found that the network's airing of the performance violated content standards in relation to offense and offence.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized him as "marching in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the politics of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he intended by the phrase "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that protest to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. In which the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also denied claims from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic events reported later.

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

When he mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more severely than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "since as with all things ethnicity becomes a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."