Bob Vylan singer explains where his passion for music comes from
An interview with Bobby Vylan, one half of Bob Vylan, has resurfaced following the punk duo's controversial performance at Glastonbury Festival, video of which police are examining
Bobby Vylan - singer of controvesial punk duo Bob Vylan - said his passion for music came from "growing up in a boring place".
The 34-year-old musician, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, sparked chants of "death to the IDF" while on stage at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday afternoon. Bob Vylan's performance was streamed live on the BBC, which has since said the comments were "deeply offensive".
Avon and Somerset Police are now examining video evidence and investigating if any offence had been committed. However, Bobby Vylan has since said on Instagram: "I said what I said." The defiant singer, who grew up in Ipswich, Suffolk, is no stranger to controversy as, performing a rendition of Wicked and Bad at Glastonbury in 2022, he sang 'Let's go dig up Maggie's grave and ask her where that milk went".
He halted a gig in 2021 after taking umbrage at a cube of ice being thrown on to the stage of the University of East Anglia's student's union, midway through his performance. The punk and grime singer wrongly assumed Sarah Corbett was the culprit and "started abusing" her through the microphone.
In an early interview, even before these controversies, Robinson-Foster said when he grew up, "people either played football, dabbled in illegal activity or rapped… and I never liked football". He was discussing where his drive for music came from in the interview which among, other things concerning Robinson-Foster, has resurfaced through search online since the IDF rant.
The enthusiasm helped propel Bobby Dylan as, by his early 20s, he was performing as a grime artist named Nee-Hi, who was dubbed "The Fresh Prince of Ipswich" by the music Press "for his energetic performances and old-school style."
And, despite only forming Bob Vylan with drummer Bobbie Dylan in 2017, the punk-rap duo have released five albums. They were, though, initially called "too extreme" to be signed by any record label, and so the pals devised their own - Ghost Theatre - with which to start their professional foray. Success quickly followed and they toured, supporting the Offspring and Biffy Clyro, and performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2021.
But the latest stunt - broadcast by the BBC - has sparked fury. Keir Starmer described the rant as "appalling hate speech" and has demanded an explanation from bosses at the BBC.
Yet Robinson-Foster, who is a dad, has since shared a lengthy statement on Instagram, in which he stated: "Tomorrow it is a change in foreign policy." He added: "Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place."
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