Bobby Vylan's Stance on Festival IDF Chant: "Zero Regrets"

The frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Responses

The outspoken punk duo sparked widespread controversy when they initiated audience chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer set. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency UTA, and the US government cancelled the members' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial interview since the festival performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes 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 encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are experiencing."

On the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, these are the people that I'm advocating for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some conservative politician or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

The artist claimed he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the chant, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's airing of the performance violated content standards in relation to harm and offence.

Vylan informed the host there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the views of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan said the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to permit that chant to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the local people are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

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

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish events reported two days.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad effect here," he said.

Contrast with Other Artists

As Vylan said he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than others for voicing views about the conflict, the host brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have also faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

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

Rachel Hill
Rachel Hill

A seasoned strategy gamer and content creator, sharing expertise on tactical gameplay and community insights.