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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, 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 names are stage names that the band members use 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. Their most recent album Humble as the Sun (2024) was released on the Ghost Theatre label. 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. 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]
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History
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The band was formed in 2017 by singer–guitarist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan 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.[8][9]
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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
Glastonbury Festival 2025 controversy
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 Vylan 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!"[14][15][16] The frontman also mentioned that some "bald-headed cunt" he had worked for in the past signed a petition against Kneecap, commenting that "we've done it all, all right? From working in bars to working for fucking Zionists".[17][18][19] The band was 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.[20][21]
Avon and Somerset Police opened a criminal investigation into Vylan over the chant.[22][23] The comments, in particular "death to the IDF", led to criticism and condemnation.[24][14] 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".[25] 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.[26] A BBC spokesperson apologised for the "deeply offensive" content in the performance, saying that it would no longer be available to stream on BBC iPlayer[27] and that they "should have pulled the stream during the performance".[16]
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to BBC Director-General Tim Davie to seek an "urgent explanation about what due diligence" the corporation carried out prior to broadcasting the act; the BBC had declined to broadcast Kneecap's set live amid similar controversy over their presence at the festival.[28][20] Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the performance as "appalling hate speech" and stated the BBC had questions to answer for broadcasting it.[24] Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scene "grotesque", writing, "Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy."[29] The Israeli embassy stated that the chants constituted "inflammatory and hateful rhetoric" and glorified violence.[20] Labour health secretary Wes Streeting described the group's actions 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".[30][31]
The US Department of State revoked the duo's entry visas ahead of a planned autumn tour, with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau saying: "Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country."[32] This followed Kneecap losing their U.S. visa sponsor under similar circumstances.[33][34] United Talent Agency dropped the group as a client after the incident.[35] Bob Vylan were removed from the lineups of Radar Festival and Kave Fest.[36]
Bobbie Vylan said in a statement: "...don't let the media distract you from what's truly important. [...] They want to control this country's narrative to frame genocide as Israel defending itself [...] Regardless of how it was said, calling for an end to the slaughter of innocents is never wrong."[37] 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."[38]
The bands Massive Attack, Fontaines D.C., and Amyl and the Sniffers spoke in support of Bob Vylan.[39][40] Massive Attack asked the media to focus on "what is happening daily to the people of Gaza" rather than on Bob Vylan.[8] 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."[33] Lawyer Jolyon Maugham questioned whether the comments constituted a crime, since they were directed towards the Israeli military rather than Jewish people.[33] Journalist Archie Bland wrote that the actions of the Israeli military were the "obvious" focus of the chant. Bland also compared the level of coverage of Bob Vylan's comments with the killing of Palestinians at aid sites, writing "the obsession with Bob Vylan ... matters mainly for its diversionary force."[41]
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.[42][43] After the festival, a video surfaced showing Bobby Vylan 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".[44][45] At their first UK concert after the festival, at London's 100 Club, the crowd started to chant "Death to the IDF". Bobby Vylan urged them to stop, saying "you’ll get me in trouble", and instead led a chant of "Free Palestine".[46]
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Musical style
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Bob Vylan combines grime rap with punk rock. Singer Bobby Vylan 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.[47] 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 Vylan in particular.[48] Despite their stage name, the pair do not cite Bob Dylan as a musical influence.[49] 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".[50]
The American magazine Alternative Press recommended Bob Vylan for fans of Idles, Fever 333 and Turnstile.[51] Ian Winwood from UK magazine Kerrang! called Bob Vylan the most exciting and important punk band in the United Kingdom in 2022.[47]
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.[52]
Walter Rodney, a Guyanese academic and anti-colonial activist, is featured on "Walter Speaks" and "Health Is Wealth".[citation needed]
In 2020, Bobby Vylan criticised the band Idles, whom he alleged had neglected the murder of George Floyd in order to protect their commercial interests with a mostly white audience.[53] In November 2023, he criticised Idles and Sleaford Mods at a show in Dublin, alleging that both groups called themselves left-wing but would not speak up for Palestinians.[54][55]
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Discography
Studio albums
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Awards
References
External links
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