Dark days ahead for protest music

It all started when the BBC cancelled its broadcast of the Irish pro-Palestinian band Kneecap during the Glastonbury music festival after the lead singer was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly holding a banned Hezbollah flag - which he denies.

But when British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan were streamed live instead, the band led chants of "Free, free Palestine" and "Death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)" that were broadcast across the nation. A screen at the back of the stage displayed the message: "United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a 'conflict,'" reports DW.

The backlash was rapid and unrelenting. The BBC apologised for airing chants it called "antisemitic"; the British police launched a criminal investigation into the incident, and Bob Vylan's agent, UTA, cut its ties with the act.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer chimed in, calling the chants "appalling hate speech" as the US State Department revoked visas for the band - which was due to tour North American in November. Bob Vylan "glorify violence and hatred" and "are not welcome visitors to our country," said US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in a statement on X.

It didn't stop there. After festivals in Manchester and France scratched Bob Vylan from their line-ups, the band was also dumped from playing concerts in Germany with the band Gogol Bordello in September.

The BBC also announced it was changing its procedures around live music events: Any music performances deemed "high risk" will no longer be broadcast or streamed live.

A large crowd focus on the stage as a sea of flags fly at an outdoor concertA large crowd focus on the stage as a sea of flags fly at an outdoor concert

'Distraction' from Gaza genocide

The duo defended its anti-IDF chants, denied the accusation of hate speech and called the backlash a "distraction" from "the slaughter of innocents" in Gaza - at least 58,000 Palestinians following the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, according to the UN.

"The bombing of hospitals, we hate that," singer and guitarist Bobby Vylan said at a concert in Greece following their Glastonbury performance - 94 per cent of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to the World Health Organization.

"If you're talking about innocent civilians and children getting sniped in the head, we hate that," he added. "We are generally not hateful people, but we do hate war, and we do hate injustice."

The frontman is of Jamaican descent and has sung often about racism and politics since Bob Vylan formed in 2017. But their Glastonbury performance has sparked a global firestorm that threatens the band's career.

Band shuts down chants in London

When Bob Vylan played their first post-Glastonbury gig in the UK on July 9, Bobby Vylan tried to stop the London audience from initiating the anti-IDF chant.

"No, you're gonna get me in trouble. Apparently, every other chant is fine, but you lot will get me in trouble," he said. He then broke into a chorus of "Free, free Palestine."

By trouble, he could be referring to a police investigation and potential prosecution in the vein of Liam Og O hAnnaidh, one of the frontmen for pro-Palestine group Kneecap. He faces terrorism charges for allegedly flying the Hezbollah flag in 2024.

"This is a carnival of distraction," said the Irish singer when charged in May. "14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us."

The number refers to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report that states that nearly 71,000 children under the age of 5 in Gaza are expected to experience acute malnourishment from April 2025 to March 2026, and that among these, "14,100 cases are expected to be severe."

Support amid censorship

Chuck D, rapper with legendary US hip-hop act Public Enemy, came out in support of Bob Vylan.

"When people say 'death to a country,' they're not saying 'death to a people,'" he said in an interview with the British Independent newspaper. "They're saying 'death to imperialism,' 'death to colonialism.' Bob Vylan ain't got no tanks. They're using words to say something must end."

After Bob Vylan were dumped from the Manchester Radar festival, which was held July 4-6, several bands refused to play there in solidarity with the punk-rap duo.

Irish band The Scratch were one of three acts to withdraw from the festival.

"The censorship and de-platforming of artists speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza is greasy, dangerous and must be challenged," they wrote in a social media post.

The band acknowledged that the Radar Festival was put in "an incredibly difficult and complex situation," with the whole event threatened with closure if Bob Vylan played.

Organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith said in an interview that the owner of the venue issued an ultimatum to the festival, as reported in Billboard magazine.

"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."

Meanwhile, a debate in the UK parliament about the controversy saw Conservative Party politician Stuart Andrew invoke the importance of free speech and political activism for a "healthy democracy" before adding that the Bob Vylan chant "crosses the line to incitement to violence."

UK culture publication Face Magazine disagreed: "Does anyone actually believe this is incitement for your average Glastonbury-goer to fly to Israel and attack an IDF soldier?"

"The fact that the Bob Vylan situation is being given equal time to international conflict feels like a bizarre and deliberate distraction."