Pink Floyd are releasing two physical versions of their first newly recorded music in over 25 years, ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’.
The single, which was initially released digitally in April in support of the people of Ukraine and was #1 in 27 countries, will be available on 7” and CD single. Both formats will also feature a newly reworked version of ‘A Great Day For Freedom’ taken from the band’s 1994 album, The Division Bell. The single will be available on 15 July (excluding Japan – released on 3 August - and USA, Canada, Australia and Mexico – released on 21 October).
The lead track sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt, with Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, and features vocals by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox. Proceeds for the physical release and the ongoing digital proceeds will go to Ukraine humanitarian relief.
For this limited edition release, David Gilmour revisited The Division Bell track ‘A Great Day For Freedom’. He has reworked the song 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 music for this song was composed by David Gilmour with lyrics by Polly Samson and David Gilmour.
Talking about the inspiration for ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ Gilmour commented, “Any war, but particularly a war that is started by a world superpower against an independent democratic nation, has got to raise enormous anger and frustration in one. As I said before, I have a small connection there; my daughter-in-law is from Ukraine. And the band Boombox are Ukrainian people that I already knew, not well, but from some time ago. It’s an enormously difficult, frustrating, and anger-making thing that one human being could have the power to go into another independent democratic nation and set about killing the population. It’s just obscene to an extent that is just beyond my belief.”
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'Hey Hey Rise Up', released in support of the people of Ukraine, sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, all accompanying an extraordinary vocal by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox. All proceeds go to Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief.
The track uses Andriy’s vocals taken from his Instagram post of him in Kyiv’s Sofiyskaya Square singing ‘Oh, The Red Viburnum In The Meadow’, a rousing Ukrainian folk protest song written during the first world war. The title of the Pink Floyd track is taken from the last line of the song which translates as ‘Hey, hey, rise up and rejoice’.
The video for ‘Hey Hey Rise Up' was filmed by acclaimed director Mat Whitecross and shot on the same day as the track was recorded, with Andriy singing on the screen while the band played.
Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren says: “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”.
Speaking about his hopes for the track Gilmour says, “I hope it will receive wide support and publicity. We want to raise funds and morale. We want to show 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.
The artwork for the track features a painting of the national flower of Ukraine, the sunflower, by the Cuban artist, Yosan Leon. The cover of the single 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.
LYRICS
Oyu luzi chervona kalyna pokhylylasya,
Chohos' nasha slavna Ukrayina zazhurylasya.
A my tuyu chervonu kalynu pidiymemo,
A my nashu slavnu Ukrayinu, hey-hey, rozveselymo!