Bobby Vylan Position on Festival Israel Defense Forces Chant: "No Regrets"

Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Responses

The outspoken music duo sparked significant controversy when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June performance. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, the band was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US government cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his initial public discussion since the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the duo faced was "small compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative official or some conservative media?"

Surprising Reaction and Broadcaster Comments

The musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that members of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the show breached editorial standards in regard to offense and hurt.

He told Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

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

"I strongly object 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 offensive. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

When asked what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. Where the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later.

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

Comparison with Different Bands

When he mentioned he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have also encountered criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," he responded, "since as with all things ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."

Michael Decker
Michael Decker

A tech journalist with a passion for uncovering the stories behind emerging technologies and their impact on society.