After a 28-year hiatus from the music industry, legendary rock band Pink Floyd is reemerging for a very good cause — to rally in support of Ukrainian citizens and generate much-needed money for relief efforts.
Guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason will play alongside Guy Pratt on base and Nitin Sawhney on the keyboard as the group bands together to release their new single “Hey Hey Rise Up” Friday, according to CNN. The song features a number of unique elements that will connect fans to the cause. All proceeds will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief.
The last time the band released new music was 1994, and fans are eagerly anticipating this new single. The song is said to feature vocals by a singer from the Ukrainian band Boombox, named Andriy Khlyvnyuk, according to CNN. Khlyvnyuk sang “a rousing Ukrainian protest song written during the first world war which has been taken up across the world over the past month in protest” said the outlet, which he performed in central Kyiv. Snippets of the audio were fused into the new single performed by Pink Floyd. (RELATED: VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Can Ukraine Ever Win?)
Gilmour has a personal connection to this song, and to the overall cause, said CNN. His daughter-in-law and grandchildren are Ukrainian, and he was reportedly moved by Khlyvnyuk’s perfomance, which was juxtaposed against the silent background of what was once a vibrant city, prior to the Russian invasion, the outlet reported.
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 reflected, saying “It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music,” reported CNN.
The band’s highly anticipated return to music comes with a unified message to fans across the globe. Gilmour said, “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,” reported CNN.