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

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

The vocal music pair sparked widespread controversy when they initiated crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer set. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US government revoked the members' travel documents, compelling them to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his initial interview after the festival show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the band encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

The artist claimed he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU later found that the network's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

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

"I take great issue with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

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

"What is important is the conditions that persist to allow that protest to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in the region. In which the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also denied assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety organisation, that their performance led to a spike in antisemitic events recorded later.

"I believe I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of people acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he said.

Contrast with Different Bands

As he mentioned he felt the band had been criticised more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, the host brought up the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."