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The lead singer Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Official Reactions

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

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the American government revoked the artists' visas, compelling them to call off a scheduled North American tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his initial interview since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the backlash the duo faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting 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 being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some conservative politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Comments

This artist claimed he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated editorial guidelines in regard to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Even crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the views of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. In which the local population are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

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

"I believe I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of people going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

When Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have likewise faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," he said, "because as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."