Bob Vylan will no longer perform at two music festivals after organisers removed the act from the line-ups after leading a Glastonbury crowd in an anti-Semitic chant of "death, death to the IDF".
The rap duo – fronted by a vocalist whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster – were due to perform at the O2 Victoria Warehouse, Trafford Park, in Manchester on Saturday – as part of the RADAR Festival. Today, it emerged the drummer's real name is Wade Laurence George.
They were also set to perform at French festival Kave Fest on Sunday, but organisers said today their appearance there had been pulled too.
It comes as MPs penned a stinging letter to BBC boss General Tim Davie over the corporation’s coverage of Glastonbury.
The band's performance at Glastonbury, which was live streamed by the BBC, sparked an anti-Semitism backlash after Robinson-Foster repeatedly chanted 'death to the IDF'.
The Corporation received a chorus of condemnation for live-streaming the daytime Saturday set, with bosses eventually admitting his remarks were anti-Semitic and that they should have pulled the plug on the recording as soon as Robinson-Foster began chanting "death to the IDF".
Responding to the criticism, the band released a statement yesterday claiming that they are being "targeted for speaking up" after complaints were made about their Glastonbury set.
In a letter seen by LBC, Councillor Nathan Evans, the Conservative Party's leader for Trafford Council, said that the group had now received confirmation from Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor, Kate Green, that the act's performance at the O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester will no longer be going ahead.
"Our group had confirmation at 2.54pm yesterday that the Bob Vylan act has been cancelled from an employee within Greater Manchester Police.
"We had further confirmation that the Bob Vylan act had been cancelled from the Deputy Mayor Kate Green at 4:05pm yesterday."
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In a brief one line statement on the RADAR Festival Instagram site, organisers said: "Bob Vylan will not be appearing at RADAR Festival this weekend."
A German music venue has also confirmed that Bob Vylan will no longer open for US band Gogol Bordello at a concert in Cologne in September.
Later the group shared the festival’s statement on their Instagram story, with a caption that read: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester we will be back.”
Bob Vylan had been due to perform in America later this year, however their visas have since been revoked.
They have also been dropped by their agents and a criminal investigation launched into footage of their set at Glastonbury, alongside that of Kneecap.
Bob Vylan's visas for America were rejected earlier this week, with United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau saying on X: "The @StateDept has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants.
"Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country."
Writing on Instagram on Tuesday, Bob Vylan said: "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."
They added that "we, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story, and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction".
Speaking to LBC, Councillor Evans said that he was pleased to see the band's performance in Manchester was not going to go ahead.
"I welcome the fact it's been cancelled. It's not about free speech – it's about death chants.
"We can have differences of opinion but to call for the death of anybody is totally unacceptable."
