Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan has said he is “not regretful” over chanting “death, death to the IDF” during the band’s Glastonbury performance, adding that he would “do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.”
The punk duo sparked controversy in June after leading the chant, which referred to the Israel Defense Forces. The incident was condemned by Glastonbury organisers and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as “appalling hate speech.” Following the backlash, the band was dropped by its agency UTA, and the U.S. State Department revoked their visas, forcing the cancellation of a North American tour.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast in his first interview since the festival, Bobby Vylan whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster stood by his actions. “If I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes, I would do it again,” he said. “I’m not regretful of it. I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.”
Bobby Vylan said the criticism was “minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through,” adding that his intent was to express solidarity, not to provoke. “If I have their support, they’re the people I’m being vocal for,” he said. “What is there to regret? Because I’ve upset some rightwing politician or rightwing media?”
Bobby Vylan
The interview, recorded on 1 October, took place before the Manchester synagogue attacks on 2 October and before a ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on 10 October.
Bobby Vylan said he was surprised by the reaction, claiming BBC staff at Glastonbury praised the set on the day. However, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit later ruled that broadcasting the performance breached editorial standards regarding harm and offence.
He also criticised Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who had described the chant as “one of the most spectacular misfires I’ve seen in my life” and likened Vylan’s stage presence to “goose-stepping in tennis gear.” Vylan called Albarn’s remarks “disappointing” and “disgusting,” particularly objecting to the use of the term “goose-stepping,” which he said invoked Nazi imagery.
Asked about the meaning behind “death to the IDF,” Bobby Vylan said the chant itself was “unimportant.” “What matters are the conditions in Palestine that make such a chant even conceivable,” he said, adding that the phrase’s rhyme made it more effective as a chant.
He rejected claims from the Community Security Trust that the performance contributed to a rise in antisemitic incidents, saying there was no evidence his words encouraged violence. “If there were large numbers of people going out and saying, ‘Bob Vylan made me do this,’ I might think differently,” he said.
Bobby Vylan suggested that race played a role in the intensity of the backlash compared to other artists who expressed pro-Palestinian views, such as the Irish group Kneecap. “We’re an easier villain,” he said. “We are already the enemy.”
