Bob Vylan, an English punk rock and dirt duo, is underneath investigation by British authorities after the pair rocked a politically-charged set at this weekend’s Glastonbury Pageant. Bob Vylan’s lead singer led the gang in a pro-Palestine chant and calling for the dying of the Israeli Protection Drive.
Bob Vylan is comprised of lead vocalist and guitarist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan. The duo defined in previous interviews that they used the stage names as a consequence of their political leanings and to keep away from being surveilled by police and comparable entities. Nevertheless, Bobby Vylan’s given title, Pascal Robinson-Foster, is thought to the general public. Robinson-Foster, who’s in his mid-30s, is of Jamaican descent.
As seen in The Customary, the pair fashioned in 2017, which additionally noticed the discharge of their debut album, Vylan. The themes of Bob Vylan’s music embody calling out racism in Britain and past, police violence, and addressing the struggles of the psychological well being of Black residents of England. One of many band’s greatest songs, “We Stay Right here,” addresses using the n-word slur in direction of considered one of its members.
Bobby Vylan cites Whitney Houston as an affect, in line with a 2024 interview with DIY. In that very same chat, the award-winning duo defined what their chief musical goals have been, fusing the aforementioned themes with messages of hope and upliftment.
“Issues are exhausting right here, however there’s far more to our existence than the bricks and mortar that we encompass ourselves in,” Bobby Vylan informed DIY.
In 2022, the group gained the MOBO Awards recognition for Greatest Different Music Act, the primary to take action, and in addition gained the Greatest Album award for Bob Vylan Presents the Worth of Life. The duo’s final album, Humble As The Solar, was additionally broadly praised after its launch.
This previous Saturday (June 28), Bob Vylan hit the stage with Bobby Vylan main a chant of “Free Palestine” and “Demise to the IDF,” each of which alarmed British and Israeli officers, who each have condemned the band’s actions over the weekend. The BBC aired the competition on its community channels, sparking outrage from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and prompting the Israeli Embassy in London to problem a statment calling the efficiency hate speech and inciting violence towards the IDF.
Glastonbury Pageant organizers issued a press release decrying the actions of the band throughout their efficiency.
“We’re urgently reminding everybody concerned within the manufacturing of the Pageant that there is no such thing as a place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech, or incitement to violence. With nearly 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there’ll inevitably be artists and audio system showing on our levels whose views we don’t share, and a performer’s presence right here ought to by no means be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs,” the organizers mentioned.
Sticking to their beliefs, Bob Vylan’s Bobby Vylan issued a press release on his Instagram web page largely centered on his daughter filling out a college survey and wanting wholesome meals, and flipping it to handle the Glastonbury Pageant.
Listening to her voice her opinions on a matter that she cares about and impacts her each day, jogs my memory that we will not be doomed in any case. Educating our youngsters to talk up for the change they need and wish is the one method that we make this world a greater place,” learn a part of the assertion.
Bobby Vylan remained defiant in his statment, concluding it with, “Right this moment, it’s a change in class dinners, tomorrow it’s a change in overseas coverage.”
View the assertion in full under.
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