Who Is Bob Vylan? Music duo under fire after Glastonbury 2025 performance sparks outrage

Time of India

3 days ago

Bob Vylan is a UK music duo made of two members: Bobby Vylan who is a singer/frontman and Bobbie Vylan who is a drummer. They've never revealed their real names to keep their privacy, as per The Guardian report.
Formed in Ipswich in 2017, now based in London. Their music is a mix of punk, rap, and hard rock. They've released 3 albums, We Live Here (2020), Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life (2022), and Humble As The Sun (2023). They've won awards like Best Alternative Act at the MOBOs and Best Album at the Kerrang Awards both in the year 20222.
Their songs talk about racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, and far-right politics. Bobby often says 'violence is the only language that some people understand' before performing one of their songs, as stated in the report by BBC.
They're known for crowd-surfing, wild shows, and collabs with artists like Amy Taylor, Laurie Vincent, and Kid Kapichi. Bobby said he went to his first pro-Palestine protest at age 15 with a friend's mom, as per The Guardian report.
What happened at Glastonbury 2025?
Bob Vylan performed live on stage at
Glastonbury Festival
2025. Before the show, they posted: 'Turns out the BBC trusts us on live TV!' During the show, they performed in front of a screen that said Israel's actions in Gaza are genocide. Bobby led chants of 'Death, death to the Israel Defense Forces'.
Live Events
He also said 'Free, free Palestine' and used the phrase 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. Critics say that chant is a call to destroy Israel, but pro-Palestinians say it's just about ending the occupation, as mentioned in the report by BBC.
After the show, Bobby posted on Instagram saying, kids need to speak up for change. Adults lose fire, so we must pass the torch to the next generation. His caption said, "I said what I said." Their set came right before another controversial band, Kneecap, performed. One member of Kneecap is facing a terror charge, as stated in the report by BBC.
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Fallout & Backlash
Emily Eavis, Glastonbury's organiser, and the festival itself said the chants 'crossed a line'. They added there is 'no place for antisemitism, hate speech or inciting violence' at Glastonbury. Michael Eavis, the founder of the festival, had earlier said if people don't like political acts, they should just 'go somewhere else'.
The BBC removed the performance video and said, 'We support free speech, but we don't support violence or hate speech.' They said the antisemitic content was 'utterly unacceptable'. They admitted they should've stopped the live stream but didn't act fast enough. Office of Communications, the UK's media watchdog, is investigating the BBC for broadcasting the chants live.
They said the BBC 'clearly has questions to answer.' Police are now investigating the performance for any crimes under Public Order laws. The US government has revoked Bob Vylan's visas. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted, 'Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome in the US.'
United Talent Agency dropped Bob Vylan from their roster in the US. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has asked the BBC chief for answers. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said both the BBC and Bob Vylan should be investigated and possibly prosecuted, as stated by BBC.
FAQs
Q1. Why is Bob Vylan trending?
They made controversial comments at Glastonbury 2025.
Q2. What did Bob Vylan say on stage?
They led chants like 'Death to the IDF' and supported Palestine.