Pink Floyd - Hey Hey Rise Up

"Hey Hey Rise Up" limited edition 7-inch vinyl single

Pink Floyd's first newly recorded music in more than 25 years!

Proceeds from sales of the single go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief

Also includes reworked version of "A Great Day For Freedom" from The Division Bell

When the invasion of Ukraine began, singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian rock and pop band Boombox, cut his U.S. tour short, returned home and took up arms to defend his homeland.

A few days later, the Boombox singer posted a clip on Instagram that showed him in military fatigues, a New York Yankees baseball cap and a rifle performing "The Red Viburnum In The Meadow," a Ukrainian protest song written during World War I.

"A little motivation from the leader of the group 'Boombox' Andriy Khlyvnyuk," he wrote.

Now, rock legends Pink Floyd have taken Khlyvnyuk's vocals and composed a charity single around it — the band's first new original music since 1994's Division Bell. The track, "Hey Hey Rise Up," features 90 seconds of David Gilmour's string-bending solo, and Floyd drummer Nick Mason. They were joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards.

The title references the last line of the protest song: "Hey hey, rise up and rejoice."

"We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren, said in a statement on the band's website.

"Then I saw this incredible video on Instagram, where he stands in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and sings in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war," the statement added. "It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music."

For this limited edition release, David Gilmour has also reworked "A Great Day For Freedom" using the original tapes which feature Nick Mason on drums and Richard Wright on keyboards, along with backing vocals from Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine and Durga McBroom. The track was composed by Gilmour with lyrics by Polly Samson and himself.

Gilmour said he spoke to Khlyvnyuk, who is recovering from a shrapnel injury, and played him a snippet of the newly-arranged lead track with Khlyvnyuk's vocals.

"He gave me his blessing," Gilmour said.

The proceeds from the single will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief, the band said.

The artwork for the track — The Sunflower Look — features a painting of the national flower of Ukraine with a twist by the Cuban artist Yosan Leon. The cover is a direct reference to the woman who was seen around the world giving sunflower seeds to Russian soldiers and telling them to carry them in their pockets, so that when they die sunflowers will grow.

 

Side A

1. Hey Hey Rise Up!

Side B

1. A Great Day For Freedom 2022

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