Latest news with #PascalRobinsonFoster
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
US government could ban Bob Vylan over Glastonbury ‘death to IDF' chant
British rap duo Bob Vylan could be banned from the US after the group's frontman called for the death of all Israeli soldiers in a Glastonbury performance broadcast live by the BBC. The US State Department is 'already looking at revoking' the group's visa ahead of their twenty-city tour through the country, a senior official told the Daily Wire. 'As a reminder, under the Trump Administration, the US government will not issue visas to any foreigner who supports terrorists,' the senior official said. Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, repeatedly chanted 'death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]' in his Glastonbury performance on Saturday. 'Free, Free Palestine,' the rapper chanted with the crowd at the music festival. 'But have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF! Death, death to the IDF!' After repeating the chant several times, Vylan then shouted out another anti-Semitic chant: 'Hell yeah, from the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, inshallah, it will be free.' StopAntisemitism, a watchdog organisation based in New York, called for Vylan to have his visa revoked ahead of upcoming concerts across the United States. The group is scheduled to play in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and Nashville for its 'Inertia Tour' in October and November. They were previously forced to cancel shows in 2023 owing to 'visa issues' but managed to tour a year later. 'The antisemite must have his visa denied/rescinded – his hate is not welcome here,' the StopAntisemitism wrote. Section 3B(bb) of the Immigration and Nationality Act said visas can be denied if applicants are part of 'a political, social, or other group that endorses or espouses terrorist activity'. Another section of the act that could be examined by the State Department centres around applicants potentially causing 'serious adverse foreign policy consequences' for the United States. Leo Terrell, the chairman of the department of justice's anti-Semitism taskforce, said his 'first call' on Monday would be to Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, to ensure Vylan cannot enter the country. 'These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces, are abhorrent and have no place in any civil society,' Mr Terrell said in a statement. 'We understand that Mr Vylan is planning to travel to the United States as part of the Inertia Tour. In response, Mr. Terrell's Task Force will be reaching out to the US Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.' Avon and Somerset Police in the United Kingdom said they were investigating the performance and said they would determine 'whether any offenses may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation'. The incident has drawn comparisons with the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months last year for inciting racial hatred after publishing a racist social media post. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'It seems very clear that this man was directly inciting violence. He should receive the same treatment under the law as others, such as Lucy Connolly. 'He should be arrested and prosecuted immediately. A failure to do so would be a clear example of two-tier justice under Sir Keir Starmer and his attorney general, Lord Hermer.' Connolly posted a message last year amid public outrage in the wake of the Southport attack, in which Axel Rudakubana stabbed three young girls to death. Sir Keir Starmer condemned Robinson-Foster's 'appalling hate speech' and warned that the BBC had questions to answer. The Prime Minister told The Telegraph that the corporation urgently 'needed to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast'. The corporation is under growing scrutiny over why the performance was streamed unedited in the first place and why, when the offensive chants began, it failed to cut the feed or bleep any offensive language. Vylan responded to the controversy in an Instagram post on Sunday saying that it is important to 'encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.' 'Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change,' he wrote. 'Let them see us marching on the streets, campaigning on the ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered.'
Telegraph
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Bob Vylan: the rappers who want to ‘dig up Maggie's grave'
Bobby Vylan bounced around the Glastonbury stage, rattling off a foul-mouthed tirade calling for violence that was then broadcast to the nation by the BBC. But this was not the duo's festival performance this year where they called for death to the Israeli Defense Forces in an attack condemned as 'deeply offensive' by the BBC and as 'crossing the line' by the festival organisers. It was instead a rendition of the grime-punk double act's 'Wicked and Bad', in the BBC's own studio, as part of its coverage of Glastonbury 2022. 'Let's go dig up Maggie's grave and ask her where that milk went,' the dreadlocked frontman sputtered while holding a baseball bat, adding: 'Down to storm those Downing doors, run inside and f--- them.' Wearing an England football shirt emblazoned with 'Visit Rwanda' accompanied with a symbol of handcuffs, the musicians continued: 'Eat the rich, eat the rich before they turn and eat your children. England's ending, death's still pending, burn those f---ing buildings.' Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, is a self-confessed provocateur whose lyrics are laced with hatred for Britain and calls for the Royal family to be lynched. Robinson-Foster, together with drummer 'Bobbie Vylan', an Arsenal fan from East London whose identity is unknown, formed the duo called Bob Vylan in 2017. The pair have since catapulted themselves into the public eye by leading the crowd in chants of 'Free, Free, Palestine!' at Glastonbury's West Holts Stage crowd on Saturday, adding: 'Death, Death to the IDF!' 'We have done it all' The frontman also ranted about a Jewish record company boss for whom he had worked, shouting: 'Recently a list was released of people trying to stop our mates Kneecap from performing here today. And who do I see on that f---ing list, but that bald-headed c--- I used to f---ing work for. 'So look, we have done it all, from working in bars to working for f---ing Zionists.' The band boasted in a social media post on the day of their performance that they were 'finally at a point where the BBC trust us on live TV!' Their performance, including all the chants, was broadcast in its entirety by the BBC on its live feed, which was subsequently cut for the pro-Palestine Northern Irish rappers Kneecap. 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive,' a BBC spokesman later told The Telegraph. The spokesman said viewers were warned at the time that the footage was offensive, adding: '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 was 'appalled' by the statements made by Bobby Vylan, adding: '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 anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.' But the BBC's coverage of Robinson-Foster goes back decades. After starting out as a poet, he came onto the broadcaster's radar in 2005 after he was asked to perform at the Black and Asian Police Association conference in Manchester. In 2007 BBC Suffolk described him as an 'established performance poet' and published a sample of his music. 'Growing up in a boring place' Robinson-Foster, from Ipswich, first became involved in anti-establishment music aged 14, reportedly joining a grime crew called Ear 2 da Street as a slam poet under the alias Nee Hi. He told Trapped Magazine: 'It really just comes from growing up in a boring place. 'People either played football, dabbled in illegal activity or rapped… and I never liked football.' The magazine dubbed Nee Hi 'the Fresh Prince of Ipswich' for his energy and old-school style. Robinson-Foster has talked of the 'ills black and brown and working-class people have endured at Britain's hands'. He told Tribune magazine that Bob Vylan tries to 'wind people up' because doing so is 'one of the ways we can derive enjoyment from living in this country'. 'If I can just say a thing and you'll get upset then that feels like a small victory,' he added. Bobbie, the drummer, similarly told Kerrang!: 'The ends justify the means. Whoever feels insulted about what we've said, well it's got to be done because we've got to have [them] understand this thing we're saying that they might not want us to say.' In one of their songs – Lynch Your Leaders – Robinson-Foster raps: 'You want your country back from who? We want our country back from you. 'Till it all comes tumbling down. And we decide to grab that rope. Hanging today, come and see the hanging. Lynch your leaders.' The group's most well-known song, We Live Here, was inspired by Robinson-Foster's daughter, who announced one day: 'We live here!' 'I knew it was going to be the title for something,' he told Bandcamp, adding: 'Eventually, I came to the conclusion that she'll have the same experience that I did. One day someone will call her 'n*****,' and I can't shield her from that.' His daughter is thought to feature in the album artwork for their recent single, 'Dream Big'. Other lyrics have taken aim at Britain, which they said was 'in dire need of a spanking', and a call to 'kill the f----ng Queen' and 'Burn Britannia'. The rap goes: 'I wipe my back side with that flag. Spit in your mouth then I spit on the crown'. Another song, Take That, says: 'Give Churchill's statue the rope and see if it floats.' The duo also have a vegan hot sauce called 'Burn Britannia', which they sell in collaboration with 'Dead of the Dead'. The band, which has toured with the Offspring, The Hives and Biffy Clyro and performed at Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2021, has previously complained of being 'underestimated'. They wrote on X in 2022: 'It's a shame that people can't get into the tents/stages and we're constantly underestimated by these festivals but we won't be letting it happen again next festival season I promise you that.' They are currently still set to play at Radar festival in Manchester and Boardmasters in Newquay this summer. A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that video evidence from the pair's performance at Glastonbury this year will be reviewed. He said: 'We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. 'Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.'
