🔗 Share this article

Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Responses

This outspoken music pair ignited widespread controversy when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. The slogan was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US state department revoked the members' travel documents, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial interview since the festival show, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose 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."

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

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some conservative politician or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Feedback

The musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to offense and hurt.

He informed the host there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described him as "marching in sport gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that in some way the politics of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

After questioned what he intended by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important 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. In which the Palestinian people are being killed 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 spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

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

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Contrast with Different Bands

As he said he thought the band had been criticised more heavily than different artists for speaking about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have likewise faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an easier villain, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."