Seminal British rock band Pink Floyd is releasing its first new music in almost 30 years to raise money for the people in Ukraine, with vocals from a Ukrainian singer who was wounded fighting for his country following Russia’s invasion.
Released on Friday, the song Hey Hey Rise Up features Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Nick Mason, with Andriy Khlyvnyuk, of the band BoomBox, in vocals. Bass player Roger Waters, who left Pink Floyd in the 1980s, is not involved.
The proceeds will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief.
The track features Khlyvnyuk singing a World War I protest song from a clip he recorded in front of Kyiv’s St Sophia Cathedral and posted on social media.
Here is the official video for 'Hey Hey Rise Up', Pink Floyd’s new Ukraine fundraiser feat Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Boombox. Stream / download from midnight. https://t.co/4U3P3WAQOZ
— Pink Floyd (@pinkfloyd) April 7, 2022
Gilmour, who performed with BoomBox in London in 2015, said the video was “a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music”.
After Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine on February 24, Khlyvnyuk cut short a tour of the United States to return to Ukraine and join a territorial defence unit.
Gilmour said he spoke to Khlyvnyuk, who was recovering in hospital from a mortar shrapnel injury, while he was writing the song.
He said: “I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future.”
Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren, added: “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”.
He continued: “We want to express our support for Ukraine, and in that way show that most of the world thinks that it is totally wrong for a superpower to invade the independent democratic country that Ukraine has become.”
Pink Floyd was founded in London in the mid-1960s and helped forge the UK psychedelic scene before releasing influential 1970s albums including The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall.
Original member Waters quit in 1985, and the remaining members of Pink Floyd last recorded together for the 1994 album, The Division Bell.
After keyboard player Richard Wright died in 2008, Gilmour said he doubted Pink Floyd would perform together again.
Hey Hey Rise Up also features Guy Pratt on bass and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards.
