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

Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions

This vocal punk pair sparked significant debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing them to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his initial public discussion since the festival performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the backlash the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

On the Protest's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have their support, these are the people that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some conservative official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Feedback

This artist claimed 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."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's airing of the performance breached content standards in regard to offense and hurt.

Vylan told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized him as "marching in sport gear."

His comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the politics of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' 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 answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After asked what he meant by the phrase "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. In which the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "Stop 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. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported two days.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of people acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he said.

Contrast with Other Bands

When he said he felt the duo had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "because as with all things race becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the opponent."