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The lead singer Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

The vocal punk duo sparked significant controversy when they initiated audience calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer performance. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, compelling them to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his first interview since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

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

He added that the backlash the duo faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, they're the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Reaction and Broadcaster Comments

The musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the chant, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "excellent."

However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's airing of the performance breached editorial standards in regard to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed the host there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term '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 offensive. I think his answer was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the phrase "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the conditions that persist to allow that chant to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic events recorded later.

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Other Bands

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the conflict, the host referenced the Irish band Kneecap, who have likewise encountered criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "because as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."