Bobby Vylan Position on Glastonbury Israel Defense Forces Chant: "No Regrets"
Punk duo lead singer Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Controversial Exclamation and Political Responses
The outspoken music duo sparked significant controversy when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. This chant was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."
Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American state department revoked the members' visas, forcing them to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour.
Interview with the Podcaster
In his initial interview after the festival performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:
"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist noted that the criticism the duo encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Gaza are experiencing."
On the Protest's Significance
"I aim not to overstate the significance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing media?"
Surprising Reaction and Broadcaster Comments
This artist said he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."
Yet, the corporation's ECU later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance breached content guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.
Vylan told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"
Response to Damon Albarn
The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."
His reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.
"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the views of the band or our stance 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. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his answer was appalling."
Intent Behind the Chant
After asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "insignificant."
"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.
"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."
Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations
The musician also denied claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in antisemitic events reported later.
"I believe I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.
Comparison with Other Bands
As he mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, the host brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have likewise faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.
"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."