Bob Phelan ‘unrepentant’ over IDF chant at Glastonbury: ‘I’ll do it again tomorrow’ | Bob Phelan

Band frontman Bobby Phelan has shown “unremorse” for chanting “Death, death to the IDF” at Glastonbury, and said he would “do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays”.

The outspoken duo sparked controversy when they led chants of “Death, death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces, at the festival in June. Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the chant as “appalling hate speech”.

Bob Phelan was dropped by her agency UTA, and the US State Department revoked the member’s visas, forcing them to cancel a North American tour.

Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast in his first interview since Glastonbury, Phelan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, was asked if he would do it again.

He replied: “Oh yeah. Like if I went to Glastonbury again tomorrow, yeah I would do it again. I don’t regret it. I’ll do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.”

He said the backlash the band faced was “little compared to what people are going through in Palestine.”

He added: “I do not want to exaggerate the importance of the hymn.” “That’s not what I’m trying to do, but if I have their support, and they’re the people I’m doing it for, and they’re the people I’m vocal about, then what do I regret? Oh, because I upset some right-wing politician or some right-wing media outlet?”

Vylan’s conversation with Theroux was recorded on October 1. At the beginning of the episode, the presenter states that this happened before the attacks on the synagogue in Manchester on October 2, in which two people were killed and three injured, and before the Gaza ceasefire came into effect on October 10.

The musician said he was surprised by the buzz caused by the anthem, and claimed that members of the BBC crew at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was “fantastic”.

The company’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) has since found that the BBC’s broadcast of the performance breached editorial standards in relation to injury and insult.

Phelan told Theroux that there was no sign of controversy at the moment: “It wasn’t like we walked off stage, and everyone was like… [gasps]. It’s normal. We leave the theater. This is normal. Nobody believed anything. no one. Even the staff at the BBC were saying: “That was great!” We loved it!”

Phelan also responded to Damon Albarn of Blur, who described the chant as “one of the coolest mistakes I’ve ever seen” and described Phelan as “walking around in tennis gear”.

Phelan said Albarn’s response was “disappointing” and “lacks self-awareness”.

“I just want to say that labeling it as a ‘spectacular mistake’ implies that somehow neither the band’s policies nor our position on the liberation of Palestine have been thought through,” he said.

He added: “I strongly object to the use of the phrase ‘goose’ because it is only used in Nazi Germany.” “That’s it. And for him to use that language, I think it’s disgusting. I think his reaction was disgusting.”

In response to a question about what he meant by the “Death to the Israeli Army” chant, Phelan said that the chant itself was “unimportant.”

“What is important are the conditions that exist to allow this chant to be chanted on that stage. I mean the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about this chant?” He said.

He added, “The ‘Death to the IDF’ rhyme doesn’t rhyme, it wouldn’t catch on, would it? … We’re there to entertain. We’re there to play music. I’m a lyricist. ‘Death, death to the IDF’ rhymes. A perfect chant.”

Phelan also rejected claims by the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish community safety and monitoring organisation, that their group contributed to the rise in anti-Semitic incidents reported two days later.

“I don’t think I created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community,” he said. “If there were large numbers of people coming out and saying, ‘Bob Phelan made me do this.’ Maybe I would go, ‘Oh, I’ve had a negative influence here.'”

When Phelan said he thought the band was criticized more than others for speaking out about the conflict, Theroux mentioned the Irish band Kneecap, which has also faced backlash for its pro-Palestine messaging.

“It’s interesting, because as with everything race comes into play in us being the easier villain, no pun intended, because we’re really the enemy,” Phelan said.

The Press Association contributed to this report.