Well, well, well. The chants of Bob Vylan frontman at Glastonbury – ‘death, death to the IDF’ – sparked outrage at the weekend and it wasn’t long before questions were asked of the BBC, which streamed the performance to viewers at home. Now it transpires that the Beeb’s director general Tim Davie was made aware of the controversial chants after the public service broadcaster had shown them live on Saturday – and while Davie ordered the performance to be made unavailable to viewers on demand, the original livestream remained on iPlayer for five hours.
A BBC spokesperson has now lamented the decision not to pull the livestream, noting that:
Tim was there for a few hours to see the team. He was made aware during the time he was there of what had been said on stage. He intervened to make sure the performance was not made available on demand and he was very clear about that.
Pulling the livestream brings certain technological challenges. With hindsight, we would have taken it down.
How interesting. The statement comes as police commenced a criminal probe into the Glastonbury performances of both Bob Vylan and Irish rap trio Kneecap, both of whom delivered a pro-Palestine message to fans during their performances. The remarks made by the Bob Vylan frontman have had more immediate consequences for the punk group too. Its members have had their US visas revoked before a huge tour that was due to take place later this year and the group has been dropped by its agency. Oo er.
Meanwhile the republican rap group Kneecap saw Naoise Ó Cairealláin issue a hasty clarification during the performance, when he referenced the trial of his bandmate Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – who has been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in 2024. Initially Ó Cairealláin had urged supporters ‘start a riot’ outside Westminster magistrates court in August when the singer – who also goes by Mo Chara – appears for the next part of his trial. A few minutes later, after running back from the side of the stage, Ó Cairealláin told the crowd: ‘I have to make a disclaimer: when we go to support at the court case, I don’t want anybody to start a riot.’ Mr S wonders just how many lawyers the band had hiding in the wings…
For their part, the Irish hip-hop group have said they have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. The musicians also claimed clips of the events had been taken out of context and were being ‘exploited and weaponised’. All the extra attention has certainly done their profile no harm, with Glastonbury’s West Holts area closed 40 minutes before their set when it became completely packed out. Will much come of these new police probes? Stay tuned…
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