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

Disputed Exclamation and Political Responses

This outspoken music duo sparked significant debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June performance. This slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, the band was released by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American government cancelled the artists' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a planned US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his first public discussion after the festival performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like suppose 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."

He added that the criticism the duo faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their backing, they're the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some conservative official or some conservative media?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Comments

The musician said he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

However, the corporation's ECU later found that the network's broadcast of the performance violated content standards in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan told the host there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

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

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the politics of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After asked what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the local population are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

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

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also denied claims from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a rise in antisemitic incidents reported two days.

"I believe I have created an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of people going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Bands

When Vylan said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with all things race becomes a factor in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."