It was frontman David Gilmour (76) who heard that the singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk and the Ukrainian band BoomBox had to cancel their tour and return to their home country. Russia had invaded the country, and the musicians had to lay down their instruments and take up arms.
Gilmour, who performed with Khlyvnyuk in London in 2015, felt the need to do something.
“We at Pink Floyd have an enormous long-standing platform, and it is very difficult to witness such cruel attacks on innocent people without doing anything,” Gilmour said in an interview with The Guardian.
«Hey Hey, Rise up!»
Now the band, which in its heyday was no stranger to having a political nerve in its songs, has reunited after 28 years. The result is called “Hey Hey, Rise Up!”, And is the band’s first newly produced song in almost 30 years.
The song will be released at midnight on Friday and the proceeds will go to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
The groundbreaking band appeared in 1965 and managed to become one of the world’s biggest rock bands before they officially resigned and continued as solo artists. They had no plans to reunite. Then the war broke out and Gilmour took a phone call to drummer Nick Mason.
It was David Gilmour who took the initiative for the project. Foto: Joel Ryan / AP/NTB
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“And you, I want to do this as Pink Floyd”
– I called Nick and said «you, I want to do something for Ukraine, and I would like to have you with me. I also want us to do this as Pink Floyd “, says Gilmour. Mason did not need time to think and said yes right away.
Last week, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhey met in the studio to record their fresh song. According to The Guardian, the late Rick Wright’s daughter Gala was also present. They have also recorded a music video.
Former band member Roger Waters is not taking part in the project.
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