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The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses

The outspoken music pair ignited significant debate when they initiated audience chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer performance. The chant was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American government revoked the members' travel documents, compelling them to cancel a planned US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the backlash the band encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

On the Protest's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

The musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and stated that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated content standards in relation to offense and hurt.

He told the host there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

His reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan said.

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

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

When questioned what he intended by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to permit that protest to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in the region. In which the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

Vylan also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded two days.

"I believe I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of individuals going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he said.

Contrast with Other Artists

When Vylan said he thought the band had been criticised more severely than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux referenced the Irish group Kneecap, who have also faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."