Glastonbury band start ‘f*** the king’ chant as viewers call for lifetime ban

Rock band IDLES have sent some Glastonbury viewers into a frenzy after the group encouraged the crowd to chant ‘f*** the king’.

The Bristol-based band performed on the Other Stage on Friday, June 28 and are well known for their bold performances and acts with popular hits including ‘I’m Scum’ and ‘Never Fight a Man With a Perm’.

Despite being popular with Glastonbury crowds who were filmed singing and shouting along with the words encouraged by IDLES, some viewers at home have called for the band to get a lifetime ban from the festival.

Alongside their’ ‘f*** the king’ chant’, IDLES aimed comments at the Reform UK Party Leader Nigel Farage calling him a ‘fascist’.

Later in the set, Glastonbury viewers spotted an inflatable dingy of what looked like small children in high-vis on a boat, crowd surfing during the band's pro-immigration song.

The five-piece rock-punk band who headlined the Other Stage on Friday also performed their hits with a backdrop reading ‘Ceasefire Now’ in relation to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine.

Viewers call for IDLES to be banned from Glastonbury

At-home viewers of Glastonbury watching IDLES set back on BBC iPlayer have since found that many of the group's stunts have been deleted due to the station's strict impartiality rules.

But many viewers watching the set live on Friday evening did take to X, formerly Twitter, to comment on the group's set.

Some who enjoyed the group's performance said: “That IDLES headline set was as good as anything I’ve ever seen at Glasto… mesmerisingly brilliant!”

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While another said: “That IDLES set is probably the greatest live performance I’ve ever seen #Glastonbury2024.”

However, not everyone was happy with IDLES Glastonbury performance as one X user said: “When that despicable lowlife band called the IDELES started chanting ‘f*** the King’ they should have had their sound system shut off, at the very least that group should never be allowed to return.”

Another viewer said: “That's that band's career finished” and one more added: “God they’re just so unoriginal and performative.”