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

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

The vocal punk pair ignited significant debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. The chant was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

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

Conversation with the Podcaster

In his first interview since the festival performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

On the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, these are the people that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Feedback

This musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the chant, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the performance breached content guidelines in regard to offense and hurt.

Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

His comment was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the views of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' 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."

Intent Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the conditions that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.

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

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

Vylan also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish events reported later.

"I believe I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

As he mentioned he felt the band had been criticised more heavily than others for voicing views about the situation, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with everything ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."