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Punk duo frontman 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."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses

The outspoken punk pair sparked significant controversy when they led audience calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. The chant was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was dropped by its representation UTA, and the American government revoked the artists' travel documents, compelling the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

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

"Oh yeah. Like what if 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 band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the people 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 rightwing official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

This artist claimed he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit subsequently determined that the BBC's broadcast of the show violated content guidelines in relation to harm and offence.

He informed the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

His reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.

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

Intent Behind the Slogan

When asked what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. In which the local people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a rise in anti-Jewish events reported later.

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

Comparison with Other Bands

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more heavily than others for speaking about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."