Bobby Vylan Position on Glastonbury IDF Chant: "Zero Remorse"

Punk duo frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

The vocal punk pair sparked widespread debate when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. This slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US state department revoked the artists' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial public discussion since the festival performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the duo faced was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some conservative politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Response and BBC Comments

The musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the chant, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's broadcast of the show breached editorial standards in relation to offense and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

When questioned what he intended by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

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

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish events reported later.

"I believe I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of people going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he said.

Contrast with Other Artists

When Vylan said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, the host referenced the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "since as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."