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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

This vocal punk pair ignited significant debate when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June performance. The slogan was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, the band was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, forcing them to call off a planned US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his first public discussion after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the band encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

On the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the significance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their backing, these are the people that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

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

However, the corporation's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's airing of the performance breached content standards in relation to harm and hurt.

He told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

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

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

"I strongly object 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 wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" 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 play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in antisemitic incidents recorded later.

"I don't think I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Other Bands

As Vylan said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host referenced the Ireland-based group another band, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."