Venue pulls UK punk duo after frontman’s tirade over slain US commentator sparks fury

The British punk duo Bob Vylan have had their upcoming show in the Netherlands cancelled after frontman Bobby Vylan launched a scathing verbal attack on the late US far-right commentator Charlie Kirk during a performance in Amsterdam.

Kirk, the founder of right-wing youth group Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in Utah last week. While on stage at Paradiso, one of Amsterdam’s most famous venues, Bobby Vylan addressed the crowd with fury. “An absolute piece of shit of a human being,” he said of Kirk, before adding: “The pronouns was/were. Cause if you chat shit you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit.”

The remarks quickly reverberated far beyond the gig. In response, the 013 venue in Tilburg announced it was cancelling the band’s 16 September show. In a statement, the venue said: “While we understand that these statements were made in the context of punk and activism, and that the reporting on them is sometimes less nuanced than what actually happened, we still believe these new statements go too far. They no longer fall within the scope of what we can offer a platform.”

The cancellation comes against the backdrop of wider controversy surrounding the group. At Glastonbury earlier this year, Bobby Vylan led chants of “death to the IDF”, sparking an ongoing criminal investigation by Avon and Somerset police. The fallout from that performance saw the duo lose their US visas, forcing them to abandon an American tour. Bob Vylan later insisted the chant was not antisemitic but a political critique of the Israeli military.

013 initially stood by their booking of the group despite that controversy, but Bobby Vylan’s fresh remarks about Kirk tipped the balance. Turning Point UK, the British arm of Kirk’s organisation, accused the frontman of having “mocked and glorified the brutal murder” of its founder after footage from the Amsterdam show surfaced online.

Bobby Vylan fiercely rejected that characterisation. In a video statement he said: “At no point during yesterday’s show was Charlie Kirk’s death celebrated. At no point whatsoever did we celebrate Charlie Kirk’s death. I did call him a piece of shit. That much is true. But at no point was his death celebrated. If it was, go find me a quote, go find me something that proves that we were celebrating his death. You’re not gonna find it, because it didn’t happen.” He claimed a reporter had deliberately misrepresented the performance. “What did happen is one reporter that bought their ticket online came with the sole purpose of finding something to report and after I called [Kirk] a piece of shit and we played a song, they have written that up as a celebration. It’s not a celebration … Calm down.”

The band responded defiantly on social media after the cancellation. “They want us down so bad but we just played a sold-out Paradiso. It’s always love in Amsterdam,” they posted on X.

Bobby Vylan has continued to rail against his critics, recently calling BBC director general Tim Davie “a spineless puppet” amid questions over why Glastonbury’s live feed was not cut during his anti-IDF comments. “There was nothing antisemitic or criminal about anything I said at Glastonbury. Why do you think @metpoliceuk @ASPolice are taking so long?” he wrote.

The storm has not stopped the duo from drawing big festival crowds. In August they performed at Boardmasters in Cornwall despite a formal complaint to the council over their inclusion. The festival defended its decision, saying it did not “tolerate hate speech” or “incitement to violence”. Devon and Cornwall police confirmed they were satisfied with the event’s safeguards. Although the licensing row remains unresolved, there was no disorder at the show. Addressing fans at the time, Bobby Vylan remarked: “It was a little bit of a battle to get here.”

Now, with another show axed and controversy swirling, Bob Vylan stand at the centre of yet another flashpoint between punk provocation, political anger and the boundaries of free expression