Bob Vylan announce another last-minute gig amid post-Glastonbury investigations

South Wales Guardian

3 days ago

The pair are being investigated by Avon and Somerset Police over their Glastonbury Festival set, which saw frontman Bobby Vylan, whose real name is reportedly Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34, lead crowds in chants of 'Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)' during their livestreamed performance.
The Ipswich-formed duo, who are completed by drummer Bobbie Vylan, are also being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for alleged comments in a video of their performance supporting Iggy Pop at Alexandra Palace in May.
A post shared by Bob Vylan (@bobbyvylan)
In the video, Bobby Vylan appears to say: 'Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel. Death to the IDF.'
Announcing the show at Bristol's Thekla venue, the band said on Instagram: 'Bristol tonight @theklabris ticket link in bio. On sale now.'
The new gig comes after the band posted a message on Instagram on Thursday saying 'where next?' following their London show.
At their performance at the 100 Club in Oxford Street on Wednesday, the singer told the crowd to stop the IDF chants as they could 'get me in trouble', before leading the crowd in chants of 'Free, free Palestine.'
The duo ended the gig by holding up a Palestinian flag, with Bobby Vylan telling the audience: 'We are a loving band, we love you lot for being here with us. We love the Palestinian people.
'Their strength, their resilience, their ability to keep on going in the face of it all is a beautiful and inspiring thing. So as hard as this week may have been for us, it has been nothing in comparison to what the Palestinian people are going through right now.
'That is where the attention should be. That is where the focus should be. That is where these politicians and media outlets should be focusing their attention right now, not on the words or the actions of a f****** punk band. It is ridiculous and it only speaks to the ridiculous state of this country right now.'
Following their Glastonbury performance, the band have had their US visas revoked, ahead of their US tour later this year, and were pulled from their Saturday headline slot at Radar festival in Manchester and from an upcoming performance at a German music venue.
Their agency United Talent Agency (UTA) has also reportedly dropped them following the comments, and appears to have removed the act from its official website.
The group issued a statement last week claiming they were being 'targeted for speaking up'.
Bob Vylan are still expected to perform at the Boardmasters surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August.
According to reports in The Times, the BBC's director of music Lorna Clarke was among a group of senior staff who have stepped back from their day-to-day roles after controversy over the broadcaster's decision to show Bob Vylan's set live.
Their Glastonbury Festival set came directly before Irish rap trio Kneecap performed on the West Holts Stage.
The group, made up of Liam Og O hAnnaidh, JJ O Dochartaigh and Naoise O Caireallain, are also seeing their Glastonbury set investigated by police.
Their performance saw one of the band's members joke that fans should 'start a riot' outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance, and led crowds in chants of 'F*** Keir Starmer', after the British Prime Minister claimed their appearance at the festival was 'not appropriate'.
O hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in June charged with a terror offence and will return next month.
Formed in 2017, Bob Vylan are known for addressing political issues in their albums including racism, masculinity and class.