
Who are the punk duo Bob Vylan, in the spotlight after Glastonbury set?
Footage of punk duo Bob Vylan's Glastonbury Festival performance is being assessed by Avon and Somerset Police to see whether any offences may have been committed.
The duo, made up of Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, led crowds at the West Holts Stage in a chant of "death, death to the IDF" as they performed before Irish rap trio Kneecap.
But who are Bob Vylan?
Formed in Ipswich in 2017, both members of Bob Vylan keep their real names secret to maintain their privacy.
The band's musical style is an innovative mix of grime, punk and hard rock, and they have released four albums, Dread (2019), We Live Here (2020), Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life (2022), and Humble as the Sun (2024).
They won best alternative music act at the Mobo Awards in 2022, and best album at the Kerrang awards in 2022 for Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life.
They have collaborated with Amyl And The Sniffers singer Amy Taylor, Soft Play guitarist Laurie Vincent and rock band Kid Kapichi.
What do their performances entail?
Bob Vylan perform a high energy set of sampled guitar tracks mixed with live drumming from Bobbie, and the band often see their audiences pogoing and moshing, but they make an effort to ensure the crowd acts safely.
The band's songs often speak out against racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity and far right politics, and the track Pretty Songs is often introduced by Bobby saying that "violence is the only language that some people understand".
In their early days Bobby would sometimes wield a baseball bat, thrashing it in the direction of the crowd, and carry out other provocative actions such as wearing the football shirt of the rivals of the town or city in which they were playing.
Recently the band has become less confrontational, and Bobbie regularly performs a drum solo to the late Roy Ayers' chilled out Everybody Loves The Sunshine.
During their Glastonbury set, Bobby brought out his daughter to sing with him on Dream Bigger.
Have they been in the news before?
In 2021, the Norwich Evening News reported that one fan was on the end of a tirade from Bobby, after he was hit by an ice cube while performing in an Ipswich Town shirt, and the gig was said to have been halted while the singer ranted.
Bobby is also said to have wielded a baseball bat at the gig, and the news article was headlined "the frost and the fury".
Sarah Corbett, from Norwich, who was on the receiving end of the alleged tirade, told the newspaper: "We were all having fun on the dance floor. I'd put an ice cube down my friend's top for a laugh.
"Another girl then threw it at her friend, but it missed and landed at his feet.
"At that point he stopped the gig and demanded to know who had thrown it.
"Seeing the girl's face drop, I decided to take the flak and announced it was me. He started abusing me through the microphone.
"As I tried to leave, one of his fans tried to grab me by the throat."
A band spokesman told the paper after the incident that they "completely refute any wrongdoing" and that Bobby "did not want to engage".
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
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Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rod Stewart suffers awkward moment on Glastonbury stage as guest doesn't appear
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Loose Women star Penny Lancaster appeared to be having a ball ahead of Rod Stewart's Glastonbury set this eveninng. The 54-year-old happily mingled with friends as she took photos with fans dressed up as her husband with his iconic hairdo. She was later spotted with pal Davina McCall, who stood out in an eye-catching red dress next to husband Michael Douglas. Over the course of two and a half hours, the crowds at Bob Vylan and Kneecap's performances became a snarling cess-pit of hate, the Mirror's Tom Bryant recalls after Saturday's chaos. Glastonbury bosses had warned that morning that they may have to close off access to the West Holts area because of over-crowding. But as soon as Bob Vylan's set began, it became obvious that his act was exactly the aperitif that the febrile crowd craved. But given the levels of controversy it could easily have been the main course. 'We are live on the BBC, so we have to be careful what we say,' said Vylan. But being careful was not on the agenda as he began a spine-tingling chant calling for the murder of the Israel Defence Force. The face of the old lady next to me is contorted with rage as she chants along. Vylan then launches into a rant decrying the music industry figures who had written to Glastonbury bosses calling for Kneecap to be banned including his former 'bald headed c***' of a boss. 'Name him, name him,' menacingly chant the crowd back. The BBC has addressed airing the moment performer Bobby Vylan, of punk rap dup Bob Vylan, chanted "Death to the IDF" to a crowd at Glastonbury on Saturday. The scenes aired live on BBCiPlayer, leaving many viewers upset over the footage as Health Secretary Wes Streeting branded it "appalling". A BBC spokesperson has since responded to the incident in a statement. They told the Mirror: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.' Glastonbury Festival said it is 'appalled' by the actions of rap punk duo Bob Vylan on stage on Saturday, saying it "crossed a line". It comes as footage of the set is assessed by police. Performer Bobby Vylan led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of 'Death, death to the IDF' on Saturday, before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance. A joint Instagram post from Glastonbury and Emily Eavis said: 'As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. 'We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love. 'With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer's presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs. 'However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. 'Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.' Olivia Rodrigo has blasted trolls as she gets ready to send out Glastonbury with a bang this evening as they final headlining act. Asked about how some of her exes and other pals have reacted to being mentioned in her songs, she said: 'Most people have been pretty cool. I just feel like that's a personal thing. It's just like this person to person one on one things. 'Songs are just songs. Lots of the times I write something and it's kind of like an amalgamation of lots of different people. Or I write a lot of songs that are of fantasy sometimes too. 'It's important for me to kind of keep my personal life private. I think I will dive as deep as I can into my songs, but I kind of just don't love talking about it. 'That's the boundary for me. It helps me feel healthy and good about my job and my privacy. I never think about a song coming out when I'm writing it. I'm always just trying to process the emotion and diving as deep as I can. And it's not until it's finished and produced where I'm really like, 'oh, how is this going to be in the world? How are people going to listen to this and interpret it?' 'But I try to keep the songwriting process very insular and just about me and the song.' Fatboy Slim will be performing today at 4pm at The Luna Bar under alias Sunday Service. The DJ just confirmed the news on Instagram accompanied by photos of his Saturday set. He wrote to excited fans: "A glorious Saturday afternoon at @glastofest Genosys. *Just announced* I'm back in Shangri La at 4pm today at Luna for a Kid-friendly Sunday session set." Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the BBC and Glastonbury have "questions to answer" after chants of "death to the IDF" were made on stage at the festival. The Labour MP branded the scenes - which aired on the BBC - "appalling" and a "pretty shameless publicity stunt". It comes after rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of: "Free, free Palestine" and: "Death, death to the IDF", before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans "start a riot" outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance. 'I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens,' he told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips. 'But I also think it's a pretty shameless publicity stunt, which I don't really want to give too much indulgence to for that reason.' He said what people should be talking about in the context of Israel and Gaza is the humanitarian catastrophe and the fact that Israeli settlers attacked a Christian village this week. He added: 'The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival, when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive, whether it's a Palestinian or an Israeli, whether it's a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, all life is precious. 'All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team.' Asked if the BBC should have cut the live feed, he said the broadcaster has questions to answer, but that he did not know what the editorial and operational 'challenges' are of taking such action. The Israeli embassy has spoken out about chants of "death to the IDF" at Glastonbury, saying that it is "deeply disturbed" by the scenes. Police are investigating the incident after a member of Bob Vylan was seen shouting out the phrase to the crowd, with videos of the moment circulating on the internet. They had been performing on stage ahead of Irish act Kneecap, whose member Mo Chara as recently in court after brandishing a Hezbolla flag on stage during a gig. A statement from the embassy read: "The Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival." They continued to say that such slogans "advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel", adding: "When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence." Police continue to examine videos of comments made by acts Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury as the festival enters its third day. Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of: "Free, free Palestine" and: "Death, death to the IDF", before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans "start a riot" outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance. According to BBC weather Glastonbury will consist of sunny intervals with light winds and reach highs of 27C. The pollen and UV levels are both seet to be high. 12pm-1pm - sunny intervals and light winds with highs of 23C 1pm-2pm - sunny intervals and light winds with highs of 24C 2pm-3pm - sunny intervals and light winds with highs of 25C 3pm-4pm - sunny intervals and light winds with highs of 26C 4pm-5pm - sunny and light winds with highs of 27C 5pm-6pm -sunny and light winds with highs of 26C 6pm-7pm - sunny and light winds with highs of 25C 7pm-8pm - sunny and light winds with highs of 24C 8pm-9pm - sunny and light winds with highs of 23C 9pm-10pm - sunny and light winds with highs of 21C 10pm-11pm - a clear sky and light winds with highs of 19C 11pm-12am - a clear sky and light winds with highs of 18C Festival-goers at Glastonbury will be basking in the glorious sunshine today, but organisers have urged attendees to '"be safe in the heat" and issued some important safety guidance surrounding consumption of alcohol. Read the full story here.