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Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

The vocal punk pair sparked widespread debate when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer performance. The chant was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, the band was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department revoked the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to call off a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his initial public discussion since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed 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 do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the duo faced was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

On the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have their backing, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Feedback

The musician claimed he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the corporation's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the performance breached content standards in regard to offense and offence.

He told the host there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

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

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that in some way the politics of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

After questioned what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to permit that protest to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the local people are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.

"The phrase 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. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish safety organisation, that their set contributed to a spike in antisemitic incidents recorded later.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Different Artists

As Vylan mentioned he thought the band had been criticised more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "since as with everything race comes to play a factor in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the opponent."