Bob Vylan Fire Back at Damon Albarn Over Glastonbury Comments: “Why Are We Talking About a Punk Band?”

Bob Vylan have responded to Damon Albarn after the Blur and Gorillaz frontman called their Glastonbury performance “one of the most spectacular misfires” he’s ever seen.

The rap-punk duo, whose politically charged set became the weekend’s biggest talking point, weren’t about to let the comment slide without hitting back.

Albarn, speaking to The Times, took aim at the band for leading the crowd in a controversial chant during their set on the West Holts Stage. He said: “It was one of the most spectacular misfires I’ve seen in my life. Especially when he started to goose-step in tennis gear… Everyone’s just so hysterical.”

For Bob Vylan, the remarks came off as lazy and dismissive. On X, they posted a pointed message directly addressing Albarn’s take. “A little help for any other out of touch ’90s musician asked about Bob Vylan at Glastonbury,” they wrote. “Your response should probably resemble something to the effect of: ‘Over 58k Palestinians killed since Oct 7th 2023. Over 700 killed while attempting to get aid. Over 1400 medical workers killed since Oct 7th. Genocide is being live streamed for all to see and the UK is not simply allowing it to continue but facilitating it, along with the United States. Why are we talking about a punk band?’”

The tweet cuts to the heart of what Bob Vylan have been trying to say all along that the real story is not the performance, or the fallout, or who was offended. The real story is the violence they’re protesting.

Albarn, for his part, has expressed pro-Palestine sentiments before, including asking the crowd at Glastonbury 2024 if they were “pro-Palestine” during a set with Bombay Bicycle Club. But his critique of Bob Vylan seems to have drawn a line between activism and performance that the band isn’t interested in entertaining.

Since Glasto, Bob Vylan have been under investigation, had shows pulled in Europe, lost their US visas, and been dropped by their agency. At their first show back last week, they asked fans not to repeat the chant that sparked the controversy—“you’re gonna get me in trouble,” Bobby said—before leading a more focused “Free Palestine” call instead. They haven’t backed down. And they aren’t planning to.