‘It Was Horrific': Radar Festival Speaks Out on Bob Vylan Cancellation
The pair sparked headlines during their performance on Glastonbury's West Holts Stage, leading chants of 'Death to the IDF' while also calling out the BBC, the US and UK governments, and more. Frontman Bobby Vylan told the crowd, 'We are the violent punks, because sometimes you gotta get your message across with violence because that is the only language some people speak, unfortunately.'
More from Billboard
Robert Plant Pays Tribute to Liverpool's Diogo Jota Following Death at 28
Boldy James Finally Explains Why Amanda Seales Claims He Owes Her Money
Jim Jones Says He Didn't Realize How Many People Loved Nas Until Viral Comparison: 'I'm Watching People Go Absolutely Batsh- Crazy'
The backlash was swift. Glastonbury organizers issued a statement condemning the chants, saying they 'very much crossed a line' and that there is 'no place at Glastonbury for anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.'
Radar initially confirmed Bob Vylan's removal with a brief statement on July 2: 'Bob Vylan will not be appearing at RADAR Festival this weekend.' But in a new interview on the Two Promoters One Pod podcast, organizer Catherine Jackson-Smith shared that the festival did not want to cancel the group's headline set.
'It was categorically one of the most horrendous professional discussions I've ever had,' she said. 'I cannot express clearly enough that I wanted Bob Vylan to perform at our festival. But this was not our decision.'
According to Jackson-Smith, Radar was caught between behind-the-scenes conversations involving the venue, its co-owners AMG and Live Nation, and local authorities. The decision to drop Bob Vylan was presented as an ultimatum: either cancel the band's appearance or risk losing the entire Saturday program.
'There was not an option for Bob Vylan to step on stage on Saturday; that became apparent at the beginning of the week,' Jackson-Smith explained. 'If we continued with Bob Vylan as our headliner, we wouldn't have the festival happening on Saturday.'
The festival, which runs July 4-6 at Manchester's O2 Victoria Warehouse, is independently operated by Jackson-Smith and co-founder Joe James. Canceling the band prevented what she described as a 'precarious situation' that could have impacted 41 other acts and the viability of the event itself.
Adding to the complexity, Bob Vylan's agency dropped the band in the wake of the Glastonbury controversy, forcing Jackson-Smith to have a direct conversation with the group about their removal.
'It was horrific as a conversation,' she said. 'Bob Vylan knew that we didn't want to pull them.'
In response, Bob Vylan posted on social media: 'Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester, we will be back.'
The Glastonbury performance continues to ripple across the industry. Alongside being dropped from Radar, Bob Vylan has reportedly been removed from the Kave Festival in France and a Gogol Bordello support slot in Cologne. Their US visas have also been revoked, and they are under criminal investigation in connection to the remarks.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy criticized the BBC for airing the performance, calling it 'a problem of leadership,' while US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described Bob Vylan's remarks as 'a hateful tirade.'
In a follow-up statement, Bob Vylan said they are 'not for the death of Jews or Arabs or any other race or group' and called for 'the dismantling of a violent military machine.'
Radar Festival has yet to announce a replacement headliner for Saturday. Jackson-Smith confirmed efforts are underway but acknowledged the difficulty of securing a last-minute act. 'We might end up with someone that has no discernible political opinion at this point because if they're free and they can play on Saturday, maybe that's the only criteria,' she said.
Radar Festival told Billboard they will be making no further comment on the matter. The festival runs July 4-6 at Manchester's O2 Victoria Warehouse.
Best of Billboard
Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1
Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The best and worst band reunions, from Pulp to Led Zeppelin
Oasis fans are set for the reunion that few ever thought would happen, as brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher take to the stage together again for the first time since 2009. But will they make it to the final tour date without another epic fallout? Plenty of bands and groups have chosen to put past differences aside for a second bit of the cherry, with vastly varying results. Some have ended up producing the best music of their careers, while others imploded soon after getting back in the same room. Take a look back at the best and the worst of music reunions as we wait to see which camp Oasis will fall into. The late 90s/early 00s pop trio Sugababes have had a more interesting history than many girl groups, including so many line-up changes that at one point, not only had every single member been replaced - but the original stars had reformed in a rival group. The first to leave the group formed in 1998 was Siobhán Donaghy, who exited in 2001, claiming that she had been bullied by her bandmates. She was replaced by Heidi Range, but Mutya Buena also left in 2005, later revealing that she had been struggling with postnatal depression and balancing parenting with the group's hectic schedule. Buena was replaced by Amelle Berrabah and the new line-up stayed the same until 2009, when that year's Eurovision entrant Jade Ewen replaced sole original member Keisha Buchanan. In her exit statement, she said the move was not her choice and that there had been "no arguments (or) bullying". But Berrabah and Range told a different story, claiming that they had both wanted to leave the group because they found working with Buchanan difficult and that their management had chosen to replace her with Ewen. The frequent line-up changes had taken their toll, and by 2011, Sugababes disbanded, but there was another twist in the tale: the original trio had reformed by 2012 under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhán. By 2019, they had won back the rights to the Sugababes name, coming full circle to the group's starting line-up. Sugababes' reunion has included a number two album, a host of festival appearances, including Glastonbury 2024, where they managed to shut down the West Holts field due to demand, and their own tours of the UK, Europe and Australia. They set out on a UK arena tour in 2025 and have been releasing new music. Pulp formed as teenagers at school back in 1978, but hit the height of their fame and success in the '90s. By 2002, Jarvis Cocker had apparently become disillusioned by fame and the band went on a nine-year hiatus. Their first reunion came in 2011 when Pulp announced that they had reformed for festival appearances over the summer, including Wireless and the Isle of Wight. They also made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury that year, 16 years after their last-minute headline performance in 1995 standing in for The Stone Roses. The reunion was short-lived, fizzling out again after two years. Fame wasn't yet over for Pulp, though - they reunited for a second time in 2022, announcing shows for the following year at festivals and in their hometown of Sheffield. By December 2024, they had signed with Rough Trade Records, and in June, they released More, their first album in 24 years, which was No. 1 in the UK. Pulp returned for a third surprise Glastonbury performance in 2025, where they were revealed to be mystery act Patchwork whose identity had been speculated about for months. Tracking a similar trajectory to Pulp, Blur also enjoyed its peak success in the '90s before going through two break-ups and make-ups. Blur's chart battle with Oasis was one of the key cultural moments of the '90s, but by the 00s Damon Albarn had been spending more time on Gorillaz, with Graham Coxon eventually leaving the band. After frequent rumours of a reunion, they got back together for the first time to critical and fan acclaim in 2008 and were still touring and releasing music until 2015, when they went on a second hiatus. Blur reformed again in 2022, doing the rounds of worldwide festivals in 2023. Albarn announced they would be going on hiatus again in 2023, but after a request to play 2024's Coachella the band did a u-turn on another break. Both of their reunions have featured No. 1 albums - 2015's The Magic Whip, and 2023's The Ballad of Darren. When boy band Take That split in 1996, it made headline news as their legions of fans sobbed over the end of an era. However, 20 years on, their fans were cheering them on again for a 2006 reunion, which saw the group climb back to chart success with number-one albums and singles back on the cards. An even bigger reunion moment came in 2010, when Robbie Williams - who had left the group under difficult circumstances in 1995 - rejoined them, completing the original line-up. Although he later left again to focus on his family, it put to bed the animosity that had haunted their split. Jason Orange also left Take That on good terms in 2014 after deciding to step back from the spotlight, but Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen have continued their success as a trio. Their 2008 single Greatest Day has seen a recent resurgence after being featured in the Oscar-winning film Anora. On the weekend that Oasis begins their reunion tour, Black Sabbath are ending theirs, which the band has said will definitely be their final show after many reunions over the years. Black Sabbath formed in the late 60s and since then have been through a number of line-up changes, breaks and reunions. Ozzy Osbourne first left his role as frontman in 1977 but has made a few entrances and exits to the line-up. Their reunion between 2012 and 2014 was particularly well-received, leading to the decision to bow out on a high. In 2016, the band set out on a tour titled The End which was supposed to be their farewell to music and saw them disband in 2017. However, they've since been tempted back, and despite vetoing a full reunion, they agreed to one last show, which will take place in Birmingham on 5 July. Back to the Beginning is set to be Black Sabbath's first concert in eight years and has attracted a huge number of support acts and guest stars, including Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Steven Tyler and Slash. The band broke up in 1980 under tragic circumstances, following drummer John Bonham's death. Attempts at reunions have not gone well, with Led Zeppelin's 1985 Live Aid performance going down in history as one of the worst reunions ever. A toxic mix of bad performances from all those on stage, lack of rehearsal and technical difficulties left fans disappointed, but the band's members agreed with them that it went terribly. Jimmy Page later said of Live Aid: "We went there with the spirit of it, but actually it was pretty shambolic," while Robert Plant labelled it an "atrocity". They attempted another reunion concert in 1988 which also did not go well, and there were a few fallings out over the years - one in which John Paul Jones was not told about a 1994 reunion, and another where Plant claimed the rest of the band weren't willing to wait for him for a new project. The band enjoyed a much more harmonious reunion in 2007 with John Bonham's son Jason Bonham on drums for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at the O2 Arena. The one-off gig set the world record for the 'Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert', and was released as a movie and live album in 2012. They have released some music together since, including a single for Record Store Day in 2018. Barely a week goes by when one Spice Girl or another isn't asked about whether the group could get back together, with Victoria Beckham's participation one of the biggest talking points. The Spice Girls split in 2000 (with Geri Halliwell having left earlier in 1998), but all five stars got back together for a sell-out reunion tour in 2007 and 2008. Their appearance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony was one of the highlights of the event, but things went a little downhill afterwards. Another reunion tour came in 2019, although this time without Beckham. The shows, especially the earlier dates, were plagued by sound problems, with some fans branding it the worst they'd ever heard at a concert. Announced as a 'world tour', the group only played 13 dates across Ireland and the UK Despite disappointment, it doesn't seem to have dulled the appetite for yet another Spice Girls reunion which is regularly rumoured with Mel B having spoken many times about how much she'd like it to happen. One of the most dramatic ends to a band reunion came in September 2024, when Jane's Addiction abruptly cancelled their remaining tour dates after a fight broke out on stage. The '80s rock band took to the stage together for the first time in 14 years, but just four months into their comeback shows things came to a chaotic conclusion in Boston. With tensions reportedly rising on the dates leading up to the Boston show, it came to a head when singer Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro and was then dragged off stage. Navarro later posted on social media: "Due to a continuing pattern of behaviour and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour. Our concern for his personal health and safety, as well as our own, has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs. "We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis. Our hearts are broken. Dave, Eric and Stephen." As disastrous band reunions go, The Doors is right up there vying for the top spot. The band originally split in the '70s following lead singer Jim Morrison's death, but made a comeback in 2002 with Ian Astbury attempting to fill his iconic role. Issues included in-fighting, the lack of drummer John Densmore, who claimed he hadn't been invited, poor performances and various legal battles over the name, which saw the group veer from The Doors of the 21st Century through D21C and Riders on the Storm to Manzarek-Krieger. Densmore said of the changing name: "It can't be the Doors without Jim. It could be the Windows, the Hinges, I don't care, as long as it's not the Doors." When Pink Floyd agreed to Bob Geldof's request for them to be part of Live 8 in 2005, it had been 24 years since the original line-up had shared a stage and so it was much anticipated by fans. However, the performance didn't quite live up to expectations - they only got a 20-minute set to fit their famously long songs into, while Roger Waters and David Gilmour hadn't spoken for two years before the show. Fans were left underwhelmed, and the band turned down an offer of a full reunion tour with Gilmour telling the Associated Press: "The [Live 8] rehearsals convinced me it wasn't something I wanted to be doing a lot of."
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams and a new dawn of 'hard launch summer'
We've made it past blistering heat waves and landed in July, which can only mean one thing – 'hard launch summer' is back in full force. Glastonbury, the British music festival, was ripe with romance this year. Pop singers Gracie Abrams and Olivia Rodrigo both more than hinted at their respective relationship statuses on Instagram with photos from the weekend's festivities. Rodrigo had subtly posted photos of British actor Louis Partridge in previous photo dumps, but never his face. But towards the end of a Glastonbury recap post on July 2, Rodrigo shared a clip of her dancing on Partridge's shoulders, smiling and singing along to Pulp's 'Common People.' The comment section exploded. 'The hard launch I was waiting for I'm so happy,' one fan wrote. Abrams also shared a photo of herself dancing on Irish actor Paul Mescal's shoulders over the weekend on her Instagram stories, followed by a selfie in a photo dump on her feed on July 2. 'I'm so happy for two people I don't even know,' one fan commented. 'Both you and Olivia hard launching on the feed is really special to me,' wrote another. So what is the art of the 'hard launch'? The term made waves last summer when Taylor Swift finally posted Travis Kelce on her Instagram feed. Both Abrams and Rodrigo's rumored relationships have also been in the spotlight already. Early kisses caught by paparazzi, gossip circulating social media, songs seemingly written about their partners (have you listened to Rodrigo's 'so american'?). But the 'hard launch' is about telling the world you're together, on your terms. Therapists say celebrities have myriad reasons for pulling that proverbial trigger. But whether it's a carefully curated moment or an impulsive expression of love, you can't unring that bell. "Every aspect of the relationship can become fodder for public consumption and scrutiny, putting a spotlight on the couple and creating pressure to be seen as a healthy match," Jeff Guenther, licensed professional counselor and author of "Big Dating Energy," previously told USA TODAY. "You're also leaving yourself open to increased criticism." Dating is tricky no matter who you are, especially early on before you decide to start telling people. With celebrities, not only are they opening themselves to scrutiny from their family and friends, but often the whole world. In the beginning stages, it may also seem too good to be true, and shouting your love from the rooftops can feel like jinxing it. Last summer, when Sabrina Carpenter featured then-rumored beau, Irish actor Barry Keoghan, in the music video for 'Please, Please, Please,' the song begged him not to 'embarrass' her. We can't speculate how Carpenter feels after that allegedly fizzled, but her newest single, 'Manchild,' may give listeners a clue. "When we introduce someone as our partner, there is an expectation that we've vetted this person," Kimberly Vered Shashoua, a licensed clinical social worker, previously told USA TODAY. "It can be embarrassing to have to go back to friends, family and Instagram and update them with a breakup." Think about all the couples, celebrities or otherwise, who never announce a thing. Often, it's a matter of self-preservation. All that said, it's easy to see why celebrities might want to shout about their relationships anyway. They're just like anyone else. It feels good to be in love. "When we feel confident in our partner, it can feel great to show them off," Shashoua said. "It's a lot easier to be honest with our friends and family than sneaking around. If we're active on social media, it can feel strange to have such a big part of your life hidden." , hookup culture and why the way we talk about sex is changing People must weigh the benefits and risks of authenticity when publicizing a private relationship. These "depend on what celebrities are getting out of it, the impact on their personal and professional lives and whether their choices are in line with their personality and core values," Cecille Ahrens, a licensed clinical social worker, previously told USA TODAY. No matter who you are, you give up pieces of yourself during a hard launch. Ahrens adds you may receive "unwanted attention" or face "constant boundary violations." Just ask Abrams, who faced criticism as rumors swirled about her and Mescal's relationship after his apparent breakup from Phoebe Bridgers. But with enough time passed, Abrams' 'hard launch' has been met with support. The 'hard launch' can even be a business strategy: "By being open about their relationships, celebrities can connect more deeply with their fans, boosting their parasocial relationships and most likely leading to more sales or followers," Guenther said. It's a decision that requires care and conversation. But at the end of the day, at least the decision is theirs. Contributing: David Oliver This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams and 'hard launch summer'
Fox News
26 minutes ago
- Fox News
BBC deemed UK punk-rap duo 'high risk' before controversial anti-Israel performance
The BBC released a public statement on Thursday confirming that it had deemed punk duo Bob Vylan "high risk" before their problematic Glastonbury set last weekend. The broadcast company announced a policy change to end live showings or streaming of such "high risk" performers. The duo performed a high-energy set at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, which ultimately turned into a political platform for the group's singer to shout out anti-Israel rhetoric. While holding the microphone, singer Bobby Vylan shouted, "Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]," several times before turning the microphone toward the crowd to get attendees to repeat the chant. The IDF is the national military of Israel. Videos from the crowd's view showed several Palestinian flags waving as the performer and attendees shouted back and forth. The band's performance was met with widespread condemnation by event organizers and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who slammed the "appalling hate speech." The BBC — the music festival's TV partner — released a statement promising to take action to "ensure proper accountability" and expressed its "regrets" for not pulling the live-set off the air. The British broadcaster also reported that a number of their staff members have been moved off of their music and live events team following the incident. In a statement released by the BBC on Thursday, the broadcaster conceded that the punk duo were deemed "high risk" along with seven other acts at the festival, but were "deemed suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations." "Prior to Glastonbury, a decision was taken that compliance risks could be mitigated in real time on the live stream – through the use of language or content warnings - without the need for a delay. This was clearly not the case," the BBC reported. BBC Chair Samir Shah apologized to all viewers, and "particularly the Jewish community," for allowing the "artist" Bob Vylan to express "unconscionable antisemitic views" live on their network in a statement released Thursday. "This was unquestionably an error of judgment," Shah stated. "I was very pleased to note that as soon as this came to the notice of Tim Davie - who was on the Glastonbury site at the time visiting BBC staff - he took immediate action and instructed the team to withdraw the performance from on demand coverage." As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, BBC Director-General Tim Davie also offered his thoughts on the situation, saying he "deeply regrets that such offensive and deplorable behavior appeared on the BBC" and wanted to "apologize to our viewers and listeners, and in particular the Jewish community." The BBC noted in their statement on Thursday that any future music performances deemed to be "high risk" will no longer be broadcast or streamed live, and that they will provide "more detailed, practical guidance" on the threshold for withdrawing a live performance moving forward. Following the outcry caused by their Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan has been dropped from United Talent Agency and their U.S. visas have been revoked by the State Department. When asked for comment on the updates reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the BBC referred Fox News Digital to their statements issued on Thursday.
