Bob Vylan top UK Hip Hop and R&B album chart one week after Glastonbury

Bob Vylan’s 2024 album Humble As The Sun has reached number one on the UK’s Official Hip Hop and R&B albums chart.

It follows backlash and criticism of the punk duo over the past week, following their Glastonbury performance, where frontman Bobby Vylan led the West Holts stage with chants of ​“free, free Palestine” and ​“death to the IDF”.

In a post on X, Bob Vylan wrote: ​“Ban Bob Vylan? The people said ​‘Nah’. 

“We need artists that speak up,” they continued. ​“Our album Humble As The Sun is back in the charts and, as an independent band releasing music on our own label, it shows the power of the people. You can’t get dropped if you own the label.”

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The set was broadcast live by the BBC, with a warning message displayed on screen to viewers, though it has not been uploaded to BBC iPlayer. Since then, the BBC has said that it will no longer broadcast sets deemed ​“high risk”.

In a joint Instagram post following the set from Glastonbury and the festival’s organiser Emily Eavis, they said that they were ​“appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan”.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” it continued.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer also responded to the comments made by the duo during their set, labelling them ​“appalling hate speech”. 

In a separate post on July 1, following the festival’s conclusion, the band made a statement on social media, declaring ​“silence is not an option”.

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“We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs, or any other race or group of people,” they wrote. ​“We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose soldiers were told to use ​‘unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.

“We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story,” they continued. ​“We are a distraction from the story, and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction.”

Following their performance, Bob Vylan were cut from Manchester’s Radar Festival’s lineup, which they were meant to headline. The festival, which took place from 4 to 6 July, failed to find a headliner to replace them, with multiple artists withdrawing from the line-up in solidarity with the duo. The band were also dropped by their agent in the days after Glastonbury.

Humble As The Sun, Bob Vylan’s third album released in April 2024, has also reached the seventh spot on the Official Album Downloads Chart, and eighth on the Official Independent Albums Chart.

Mol­ly Bak­er is a free­lance jour­nal­ist. Fol­low her on Insta­gram.

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