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The lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Reactions

This vocal music pair ignited widespread debate when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, the band was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' visas, compelling them to cancel a scheduled North American tour.

Conversation with the Podcaster

In his initial interview after the festival performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the backlash the band encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their backing, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

The musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the chant, and asserted that staff of BBC employees at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU later found that the network's broadcast of the performance violated content standards in relation to harm and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated 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 Slogan

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. In which the local population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal 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 spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

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

Contrast with Other Artists

As he mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "because 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 enemy."