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 "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Controversial Chant and Official Responses
The vocal music pair ignited significant debate when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."
Following the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency UTA, and the American state department cancelled the members' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled North American concert series.
Interview with the Podcaster
In his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:
"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist added that the backlash the duo faced was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are experiencing."
Regarding the Chant's Importance
"I aim not to overstate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing news outlet?"
Surprising Response and BBC Feedback
The musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the chant, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."
However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated content standards in relation to offense and offence.
Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"
Reply to Damon Albarn
Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."
His reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.
"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.
"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."
Intent Behind the Chant
When questioned what he intended by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "insignificant."
"The key issue is the conditions that persist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. In which the local people are being killed at an disturbing 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 caught on, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."
Denial of Hate Speech Allegations
Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their performance led to a rise in antisemitic incidents recorded two days.
"I believe I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.
Comparison with Other Artists
When he mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the situation, the host brought up the Irish group another band, who have also encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.
"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with everything ethnicity becomes a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."
