Pink Floyd on Friday released a new single, "Hey Hey Rise Up," featuring vocals by Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk and guitar solos by David Gilmour. Drummer Nick Mason, bass player Guy Pratt, and keyboardist Nitin Sawhney also perform on the song, Pink Floyd's first new music since 1994's Division Bell. (Roger Waters, who split from the band in 1985, did not participate.)
Gilmour, whose daughter-in-law is Ukrainian, said he was inspired to record the song after watching Khlyvnyuk sing the World War I protest song "The Red Viburnum In The Meadow" in central Kyiv, in a video posted to Instagram. Khlyvnyuk, who left a U.S. tour of his band Boombox to take up arms against Russia in Ukraine, is recovering from a shrapnel injury, Gilmour said, and after hearing a snippet of Pink Floyd's single, "he gave me his blessing."
The song's title comes from the protest song's last line, "Hey hey, rise up and rejoice." All proceeds from the single will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief, Pink Floyd says.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"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 said in a statement. The video of Khlyvnyuk singing "in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war" was "a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music."
-
Why are American conservatives clashing with Pope Leo?Talking Points Comments on immigration and abortion draw backlash
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the nightThe Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
Saudi comedy fest exposes free speech schism in stand-upIN THE SPOTLIGHT The decision by some of stand-up’s biggest names to attend a festival in a nation infamous for its censorship has the comedy world picking sides and settling old scores
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
