Boris Johnson quips Stormzy said ‘back’ not ‘fuck’ Boris at Glastonbury

Stormzy took aim at the Tory leadership candidate during his song Vossi Bop, which includes the lyrics ‘fuck the government’ and ‘fuck Boris’.

He became the first black British performer to headline Glastonbury’s main stage, and prompted the audience to join in with the politically-charged lyrics, which was broadcast on the BBC.

But speaking after the latest Conservative Party’s leadership hustings, Johnson brushed it off.

He joked that Stormzy was “thoroughly on message” and claimed he was actually singing “back Boris” – his campaign slogan.

He told PA: “I want to pay tribute to Stormzy – I am a great enthusiast and admirer of Mr Stormzy’s works and I think he’s one of the great lyricists and poets of our time.

“And I want to thank him for his rousing endorsement of the Back Boris campaign.

“Back Boris I think was what he said and there may have been some problem with the acoustics that caused him to be briefly misunderstood, but Stormzy seems to me to be thoroughly on message.”

Croydon-born grime star Stormzy described his slot on the Pyramid stage as “the greatest night of my entire life”.

He is also the second youngest solo act to headline the festival, with a 24-year-old David Bowie doing so in 1971.

Stormzy, whose real name is Michael Omari, took to the stage wearing what appeared to be a stab vest embellished with a Union Jack.

A spokeswoman for the BBC said the set was well received.

“The BBC will broadcast over 100 performances from Glastonbury 2019 and Stormzy’s Friday headline performance received a hugely positive response from the audience, peaking at 1.5 million views on BBC Two before digital and catch-up is included.

“There were also 380,000 BBC iPlayer requests to watch Stormzy’s set live.”