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The lead singer Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

This vocal punk pair sparked significant debate when they led audience chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer performance. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, the band was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US government revoked the members' travel documents, forcing them to call off a planned North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first public discussion since the festival performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

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

On the Chant's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're 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 upset some conservative politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Feedback

This musician said he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU later found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance breached content standards in relation to offense and hurt.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "marching in tennis gear."

His comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also denied assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish events recorded two days.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

As he said he thought the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

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