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Punk duo lead singer Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Political Responses

The outspoken music duo ignited significant debate when they initiated audience chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer performance. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' visas, compelling them to cancel a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his first public discussion after the festival show, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the band encountered was "small compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their backing, they're the people that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

The artist claimed he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and stated that members of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's airing of the show breached editorial standards in regard to offense and offence.

He told the host there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

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

"The key issue is the situation that persist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.

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

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals 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 Artists

As he said he felt the duo had been criticised more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan responded, "because 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 inherently the enemy."