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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Responses

This vocal punk pair sparked significant controversy when they led audience calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June performance. This chant was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, the band was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing them to cancel a planned North American tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

During his first interview after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the band faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

On the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't 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? Oh, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Comments

This musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

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

He informed the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "marching in tennis gear."

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

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Slogan

When asked what he meant by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the conditions that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

"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 lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish events reported later.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of individuals going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Artists

When Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than different artists for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have likewise faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "since as with everything ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the enemy."