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

The frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Responses

The outspoken music pair sparked widespread controversy when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June performance. The chant was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing them to call off a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

On the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, 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? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Feedback

This artist claimed he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's ECU later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the show violated editorial guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

He told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician 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 tennis gear."

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

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' 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 response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After asked what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

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

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their performance led to a spike in antisemitic events recorded two days.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Artists

When he said he felt the band had been targeted more severely than others for voicing views about the situation, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have likewise faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "since as with everything ethnicity becomes a part in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."

Scott Page
Scott Page

A passionate gamer and content creator specializing in loot mechanics and gaming strategies, with years of experience in the industry.