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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 Reactions

The vocal punk duo ignited significant controversy when they led audience calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. The chant was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, the band was released by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the members' visas, compelling them to call off a planned North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first interview after the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

On the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to overstate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, 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? Well, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Comments

The artist said he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the exclamation, and stated that staff of BBC staff at the event told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU later determined that the BBC's airing of the show breached editorial standards in relation to harm and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Chant

When asked what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to permit that protest to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the local people are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also denied assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in antisemitic incidents recorded later.

"I believe I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Contrast with Different Artists

As Vylan said he felt the band had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the conflict, Theroux brought up the Irish group another band, who have likewise faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "since as with all things race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."