Bob Vylan tell crowd to stop IDF chants at first show since Glastonbury: “Just putting out fires”
Bob Vylan told their crowd to stop a “death to the IDF” chant at the first gig since their Glastonbury 2025 controversy.
Last month, the punk duo played a headline-grabbing set on the West Holts Stage at the Worthy Farm festival, in which they voiced their support for Palestine, criticised Israel and led the crowd in a chant calling for death to the Israel Defence Forces.
The fallout from that performance saw the duo come under a criminal investigation, and have shows in Germany and France dropped, while their agents have reportedly cut ties with them and their US visas have been revoked.
On Wednesday (July 9), they played their first show since Glastonbury at London’s The 100 Club and at one point during the set, a group of fans attempted to revive the “death to the IDF” chant.
As shown in footage captured by The Standard, frontman Bobby Vylan immediately pointed at those chanting and said: “No no no no no, you’re gonna get me in trouble. Apparently, every other chant is fine, but you lot will get me in trouble.” He then led the crowd in a chant of “Free, free Palestine”.
Earlier in the clip, Vylan said: “I’m gonna try and keep my talking to a minimum today, because that’s what got us in trouble in the first place.”
Elsewhere in the show, Metro have reported that Vylan said: “I am pretty tired. It’s been a busy week, been a busy couple of days. Just putting out fires, you know? We never ever could have imagined that we would create a conversation that needed to be created and needed to be had.”
“What is happening over there is an absolute mess, it is fucking criminal what is happening to these people, they are now being concentrated into camps. They have been trying to silence us, they thought that this would shut us up, but the album is back in the charts.”
“We just want to see the liberation of the Palestinian people,” he added. “That’s it. I don’t think it’s too crazy a thing to ask. I don’t think it’s a violent thing to ask, right? The liberation of the Palestinian people from a tyrannical fucking oppressor. That’s all we want. Each and every single time, they will not fucking silence us.”
See other fan-captured footage from the London show here:
A BBC Music boss reportedly stepped down following the backlash against the Glastonbury gig being broadcast live, with the corporation describing Vylan’s comments as “offensive and deplorable”. They have also said they will no longer live broadcast any performances deemed “high risk” in the future.
A number of artists spoke out in support of Vylan, including Lambrini Girls, Amyl & The Sniffers and Soft Play, as well as Massive Attack, who urged the media to focus on “what is happening daily to the people of Gaza”, and Chuck D, who said “we have to be able to fight for peace and love by any means necessary”.
Bob Vylan were dropped from Manchester’s Radar Festival too, although organisers made it clear that they did not want to do this. Then, several bands pulled out of the festival in a show of solidarity with Bob Vylan, including Hero In Error.
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Max Pilley
NME
