Who are the duo Bob Vylan, in the spotlight after Glastonbury set?

Yahoo

18 hours ago

DESPITE it being the final day of the festival, one set at Glastonbury 2025 is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons - but who exactly is Bob Vylan?
Footage of punk duo Bob Vylan's Glastonbury Festival performance is being assessed by Avon and Somerset Police to see whether any offences may have been committed.
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The duo, made up of Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, led crowds at the West Holts Stage in a chant of 'death, death to the IDF' as they performed before Irish rap trio Kneecap, which had to be closed off by the festival just under an hour before they performed.
But who are Bob Vylan?
Formed in Ipswich in 2017, both members of Bob Vylan keep their real names secret to maintain their privacy.
The band's musical style is an innovative mix of grime, punk and hard rock, and they have released four albums: Dread (2019), We Live Here (2020), Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life (2022), and Humble as the Sun (2024).
They won best alternative music act at the Mobo Awards in 2022, and best album at the Kerrang Awards in 2022 for Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life.
They have collaborated with Amyl And The Sniffers singer Amy Taylor, Soft Play guitarist Laurie Vincent and rock band Kid Kapichi.
Bob Vylan crowdsurfing at Glastonbury Festival 2025. (Image: Yui Mok)
What do their performances entail?
Bob Vylan perform a high-energy set of sampled guitar tracks mixed with live drumming from Bobbie, and the band often see their audiences pogoing and moshing, but they make an effort to ensure the crowd acts safely.
The band's songs often speak out against racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity and far-right politics, and the track Pretty Songs is often introduced by Bobby saying that 'violence is the only language that some people understand'.
In their early days Bobby would sometimes wield a baseball bat, thrashing it in the direction of the crowd, and carry out other provocative actions such as wearing the football shirt of the rivals of the town or city in which they were playing.
Recently, the band has become less confrontational, and Bobbie regularly performs a drum solo to the late Roy Ayers' chilled out Everybody Loves The Sunshine.
During their Glastonbury set, Bobby brought out his daughter to sing with him on Dream Bigger.
A spokesperson from Avon and Somerset Police spoke yesterday (June 28), "We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon (Saturday 28 June).
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation."
The Glastonbury Festival organisers aren't happy, including Emily Eavis, who has posted a statement via social media.
A joint Instagram post from Glastonbury and Emily Eavis reads: 'As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism.
'We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love.
'With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer's presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.
'However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday.
'Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.'