Bob Vylan singer interviewed by police over Glastonbury IDF chants during BBC livestreamed performance
Bob Vylan lead singer Bobby Vylan has been interviewed by police over comments he made on stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
The lead singer of punk rap group Bob Vylan has been interviewed by police. Bobby Vylan - real name Pascal Robinson-Foster - “voluntarily attended” an interview with Avon and Somerset Police on Monday (November 10).
The frontman led chants of “death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)” during their BBC livestreamed performance at Glastonbury Festival in June, which saw an investigation launched by police.
Police said a man in his 30s, understood to be Robinson-Foster, had voluntarily attended an interview, after the force received advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
A police statement read: “It has been important for us to have a full understanding of any legal precedents, which is a complex process, and therefore over the past couple of months we have been seeking early legal advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. Advice from the CPS was received during the week commencing Monday, October 20.
“Following a review of the advice, a voluntary police interview was arranged to help us progress our inquiries, which was held yesterday afternoon. The matter has been recorded as a public order incident while we continue to investigate and consider all relevant legislation.”
Police said voluntary interviews are “commonly used in investigations where an individual agrees to attend and an arrest is not considered necessary”, and added that “attendees are interviewed under caution and have the same legal rights as anybody who is arrested”.
It comes after British Airways paused their sponsorship of the Louis Theroux podcast in October following an interview with Robinson-Foster, which saw him say he was “not regretful” of the chant and would “do it again tomorrow”.
Following their appearance at the Worthy Farm festival, the group were later dropped from a number of festivals and performances including Radar festival, a show at a German music venue and a US tour after their visas were revoked.
A performance earlier this year supporting former Stooges frontman Iggy Pop at Alexandra Palace also saw an investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police, for alleged similar comments to those made at Glastonbury.
Bob Vylan recently also had to postpone two UK gigs over “political pressure” including a show in Manchester following calls by Jewish leaders and MPs for it to be cancelled.
Despite the criticism, the duo, completed by drummer Bobbie Vylan, real name Wade Laurence George, have also seen support from fans, with their album Humble As The Sun re-entering the charts over the summer.