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Bob Vylan
English punk rap duo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bob Vylan is an English punk rap duo based in London. Their work merges elements of punk rock, hip hop, grime, and hardcore, and features criticisms of the British establishment, inequality, racism, sexism, and homophobia.[4] The members are Bobby Vylan on vocals and guitar, and Bobbie Vylan on drums; both are stage names meant to maintain their privacy in the face of what they describe as a surveillance state.[5] They refer to themselves as "the Bobs". The group has released four albums beginning with their self-released 2019 debut Dread, and are most recently signed to the record label Ghost Theatre.
The group is outspoken in their opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the government of Israel and Israel's actions in the Gaza war, which they described as genocide. They sparked controversy during their performance at Glastonbury Festival 2025 for leading the crowd in a chant of "death, death to the IDF", which resulted in their visas for an upcoming tour in the United States being revoked.[6][7] Following the controversy, their recent album Humble as the Sun (2024) topped the UK Hip Hop and R&B Album Chart and reached number 8 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
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History
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The band was formed in 2017 by singer–guitarist Bobby Vylan (real name Pascal Robinson-Foster[8]) and drummer Bobbie Vylan (real name Wade Laurence George[9]) in Ipswich. Their first concert followed just two weeks later. Bobby took part in slam poetry as a teenager under the name Nee Hi, receiving coverage from the BBC in the mid-2000s.[10][11]
In the first year of the band's history, Bob Vylan released four singles and two EPs, Dread and Vylan, via the band's own label, Ghost Theatre. Following the DIY principle, the musicians personally delivered their albums to various record stores and booked their own shows.[12]
The band released their debut album on 5 June 2020, We Live Here. The album was self-released after the band were told that it was " too extreme" by the music industry.[13] Bob Vylan then toured supporting the Offspring and Biffy Clyro and performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2021.[citation needed] The band released its second studio album on 22 April 2022, Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number 18.[14] The band released two singles from their third studio album, Humble as the Sun on 27 October 2023. The album was released on 5 April 2024.[15]
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Musical style
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Bob Vylan combines grime rap with punk rock. Singer Bobby grew up listening to rap, grime, punk and indie rock. After learning the guitar, he wanted to incorporate all of his influences into his music. Their music is also influenced by Jamaican genres as a tribute to Bobby's Jamaican heritage; songs "Wicked and Bad" and "Health Is Wealth" on their album The Price of Life contain elements of dancehall and reggae.[16] Their music also contains elements of spoken-word poetry, like "Intro" on We Live Here and "Interlude" on The Price of Life.
The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten and Akala are cited as two of their musical influences. Rappers Dizzee Rascal, Stormzy, and Skepta are cited as influences by Bobby in particular.[17] Despite their stage name, the pair do not cite Bob Dylan as a musical influence.[18] In a 2024 interview with DIY, lead singer Bobby attributed a lot of his lyrical influence to the late Whitney Houston, with drummer Bobbie adding "Whitney was everything to me when I was a kid".[19]
The American magazine Alternative Press recommended Bob Vylan for fans of Idles, Fever 333 and Turnstile.[20] Ian Winwood from UK magazine Kerrang! called Bob Vylan the most exciting and important punk band in the United Kingdom in 2022.[16]
Musical themes
Common ideas found in the lyrics include social and political issues such as racism, police violence, economic inequality, access to healthy food, gentrification, mental health, fatherhood, late-stage capitalism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, Britain's political hypocrisy, and the pharmaceutical industry. The theme of the struggles of being a black man in Europe are recurring in every album, and include the mental health struggles of black men, institutional racism that contributes to poverty in black communities, the threat of police, and the struggles of being a black parent in a world that threatens your children.[21]
Bobby described the duo as "violent punks" at the Glastonbury Festival in 2025, stating a need to get their "message across with violence", when they feel that is "the only language some people speak".[22][23]
Some of Bob Vylan's messages were considered too extreme by contemporary music industry.[24] Their lyrics and on-stage talk often contain explicitly violent language, and an article in Recherches anglaises et nord-américaines described them as treading "the fine line between insight and incitement".[25] For example: one song says "kill the fucking queen" and another says "burn Britannia, kill the queen";[25][26]another song, titled "Lynch Your Leaders", has the line "come and see the hanging", and its artwork is an image of Queen Elizabeth II and a noose;[25][27] and in a music festival in Blackpool on 2023 Bobby said about the police: "The only good pig is a dead pig”.[28][29]
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Political activism
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Bobby criticised the band Idles in 2020, whom he alleged had neglected the murder of George Floyd in order to protect their commercial interests with a mostly white audience.[30] He criticised Idles again, as well as Sleaford Mods at a November 2023 show in Dublin, alleging that both groups called themselves left-wing but would not speak up for Palestinians.[31][32]
Glastonbury Festival 2025
During Bob Vylan's performance at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival, in front of a screen reading "Free Palestine: United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a 'conflict'", Bobby called out to the crowd: "Alright, but have you heard this one, though? Death, death to the IDF!", and declared "Hell yeah, from the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be – inshallah – it will be free!"[33][34][35] The frontman also mentioned that a "bald-headed cunt" he had worked for in the past had signed a petition against Kneecap.[36][37][38] Bob Vylan were one of several acts to make statements in support of Palestine and against Israel during their performances, alongside the Irish acts CMAT, Inhaler and Kneecap.[39][40] After the festival, a video surfaced showing Bobby saying to the crowd at Alexandra Palace in London on 28 May 2025: "Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel. Death to the IDF".[41][42]
Avon and Somerset Police opened a criminal investigation into the band over the chant.[43][44] The comments, in particular "death to the IDF", led to criticism and condemnation.[45][33] Glastonbury Festival co-organiser Emily Eavis said she was "appalled" by the comments, which contradicted the festival's ethos of "hope, unity, peace and love".[46] Journalist David Aaronovitch said that Vylan's comment about working for Zionists was an invocation of the antisemitic trope of Jewish control over the music industry.[47] A BBC spokesperson apologised for the "deeply offensive" content, removed it from streaming on BBC iPlayer[48] and that they "should have pulled [it] during the performance".[35]
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to BBC Director-General Tim Davie to seek an "urgent explanation about what due diligence" the BBC carried out prior to broadcasting the act, given they had declined to broadcast Kneecap's set live amid similar controversy.[49][39] Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the performance as "appalling hate speech".[45] Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scene "grotesque", writing that "glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy."[50] The Israeli embassy stated that the chants were "inflammatory and hateful rhetoric" and glorified violence.[39] Labour health secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as "appalling", and said the "irony of that music festival is that Israelis were taken from a music festival, killed, raped and in some cases are still being held captive".[51][52] The US Department of State revoked the duo's entry visas ahead of a planned autumn tour.[53] United Talent Agency dropped the group as a client after the incident,[54] and removed from the lineups of Radar Festival in Manchester and Kave Fest.[55]
Bobbie criticized the reactions in a statement: "They want to control this country's narrative to frame genocide as Israel defending itself"[56] The band also released a statement, writing, "We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine.... A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza."[57]
The bands Massive Attack, Fontaines D.C., and Amyl and the Sniffers spoke in support of Bob Vylan.[58][59][10] Jordan Benjamin, who performs as Grandson, said, "As a Jewish artist, I am deeply offended by the conflation of criticism against a military force known for their indiscriminate violence with antisemitism."[60] Journalist Archie Bland wrote that the actions of the Israeli military were the "obvious" focus of the chant, and criticizes the amount of coverage it received.[61]
Following the festival, the band's 2024 album Humble As The Sun surged back up the music charts, reaching the top of the UK Hip Hop and R&B albums chart as well as number 7 on the Official Album Downloads Chart and number 8 on the Official Independent Albums Chart.[62][63] At their first UK concert after the festival, at London's 100 Club, the crowd started to chant "Death to the IDF". Bobby urged them to stop, saying "you’ll get me in trouble", and instead led a chant of "Free Palestine".[64]
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Discography
Studio albums
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Awards
References
External links
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