Bob Vylan frontman Defiant over “Death to the IDF” Chant at Glastonbury
The controversial chant led by the punk duo Bob Vylan at Glastonbury Festival in June continues to reverberate, with frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster, known as Bobby Vylan, stating he would repeat the action without hesitation. The outburst,directed at the Israel Defense Forces,sparked widespread condemnation,leading to the band being dropped by their agency and facing visa revocations.
The incident occurred during Bob Vylan’s performance at the iconic festival, where they led the crowd in chanting “death, death to the IDF.” This prompted immediate backlash, with Glastonbury organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer labeling the chant “appalling hate speech.” The fallout included the termination of their relationship with UTA, their US agency, and the revocation of visas for band members, forcing the cancellation of a planned North American tour.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast in his first interview as the Glastonbury performance, Robinson-Foster unequivocally defended his actions. “Oh yeah,” he responded when asked if he would do it again. “Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I’m not regretful of it.I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.”
Robinson-foster framed the criticism as insignificant compared to the suffering in Palestine. “It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like ‘That was fantastic! We loved that!'”
The musician also directly addressed criticism from Damon Albarn of Blur, who characterized the chant as a “impressive misfire” and likened Robinson-Foster to “goose-stepping in tennis gear.” Robinson-Foster deemed Albarn’s response “disappointing” and indicative of a lack of self-awareness. “I just want to say that categorising it as a ‘spectacular misfire’ implies that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is not thought out,” he explained. He further condemned Albarn’s use of the term “goose-stepping,” arguing that its association with Nazi Germany rendered the language “disgusting.”
When pressed on the meaning behind the “Death to the IDF” chant, Robinson-Foster reiterated its relative unimportance. “what is meaningful is the conditions that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage.And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?” He added a pragmatic note, explaining the lyrical choice: “‘Death, Death to IDF’ rhymes. ‘end, End the IDF’ does not rhyme, wouldn’t have caught on, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist.”
Robinson-Foster also refuted allegations made by the Community Security Trust (CST),a Jewish community safety institution,that their performance contributed to a subsequent increase in reported antisemitic incidents. “I don’t think I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like ‘Bob Vylan made me do this’.I might go, oof, I’ve had a negative impact here,” he stated.
During the conversation, Louis Theroux raised the case of the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced criticism for their pro-Palestine messaging. Robinson-Foster suggested that racial dynamics played a role in the differing levels of scrutiny. “That’s an interesting one,” he said, “because as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the enemy.”
The incident underscores the growing tension surrounding artistic expression and political activism, especially in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and raises complex questions about the boundaries of free speech and the responsibility of artists in a polarized world.
