The Manchester Evening News has issued an apology and paid “substantial damages” to Bob Vylan after it claimed that the punk duo had “performed Nazi salutes on stage”. That claim was made in October when the newspaper was reporting on opposition in Manchester to a gig that the band were due to play in the city last week. The show was ultimately postponed into 2026.
A statement from the band’s lawyers says that the newspaper incorrectly labelled a “sun salutation” regularly performed by members of Bob Vylan as a Nazi salute, an error the newspaper and its publisher Reach plc have now acknowledged and apologised for, including in a public statement.
“This was an extremely serious and damaging allegation”, says the band’s lawyer Zillur Rahman. The newspaper, he adds, “falsely suggested that an artist whose entire career is rooted in anti-racism and social justice was performing a Nazi salute”.
To that end, the lawyer continues, “we are pleased that Reach plc has now accepted this was untrue, publicly corrected the record, apologised to our client and paid substantial damages”.
Bob Vylan have been in the spotlight ever since their BBC broadcast Glastonbury performance, of course, with critics accusing the duo of antisemitism in relation to their on-stage criticism of Israel.
That has led to some shows being cancelled. In Manchester, the Jewish Representative Council Of Greater Manchester led calls for a Manchester Academy show to be called off, a campaign which then won the backing of various political figures.
For their part, Bob Vylan insist that their criticism of Israel and support for Palestine does not constitute or incite antisemitism. Last week Dutch prosecutors who investigated complaints relating to a show in Amsterdam ruled that, although their on-stage comments may be “provocative and harsh”, the band didn’t break any laws relating to inciting hatred or discrimination.
According to the Daily Mail, Bob Vylan’s lawyers have also sent a legal letter to the Jewish Representative Council in Manchester stating that its claims that the band are antisemitic are defamatory. But the legal complaint to the Manchester Evening News mainly related to the Nazi salute allegation.
The statement from the band’s lawyers describes in more detail the “sun salutation” that was incorrectly labelled as a fascist salute. It says, “Bob Vylan open every performance with a guided light stretching and meditation routine, which is clearly introduced to the audience, who are invited and encouraged to participate”.
As part of that, members of the band “raise their left arm directly upward toward the sky in a reaching motion, a sun salutation, while placing their right hand over their heart. The movement is performed while facing each of the four corners of the room, symbolically connecting with the entire audience”.
This ritual, the statement adds, “has been an integral part of Bob Vylan’s live performances for several years” and, it then insists, “bears no resemblance in form, intention or context to any fascist salute”.
In a statement on its website, the Manchester Evening News says its article on the campaign against Bob Vylan’s gig “included a statement that the band had performed Nazi salutes on stage”.
However, the band have “informed us - and we accept - that the gesture in question was in fact a sun salutation, performed as part of ‘guided light stretching and meditation’ at the start of all Bob Vylan shows. We are happy to correct the record and apologise to Bob Vylan for the error”.
Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan, real name Pascal Robinson, says of his dispute with the newspaper, “To have something rooted in mindfulness, peace and connection distorted into a symbol of hate was both painful and outrageous. Our art has always stood against oppression in all its forms, racism, fascism and discrimination, and we will never stop using our platform to speak truth to power”.
“We are grateful to our legal team for defending our integrity and setting the record straight”, he adds. “The truth matters and we’re glad it’s now been recognised. Now that this matter has been resolved, we are looking forward to concentrating on our current UK tour”.
