British prog rockers Pink Floyd have announced the upcoming physical release of their Ukraine benefit single “Hey Hey Rise Up” which was released on digital platforms in early April. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, you can listen to the tune and watch its accompanying music video below.
The song will be released on seven-inch vinyl and CD from July 15th in the UK and will see later releases in Japan (August 3rd), the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia on October 21st. The single will, as expected, feature a B-side, which will be a re-working of the song “A Great Day for Freedom” from the band’s 1994 record The Division Bell. Pre-orders for the physical release are not available.
The personnel involved in the recording of “Hey Hey Rise Up” includes Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist Nitin Sawhney and bassist Guy Pratt. The song also features a sample of Boombox singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk, singing a Ukrainian patriotic hymn entitled “The Red Viburnum”.
Speaking in a recent statement, Gilmour explained the band’s decision to record and release the track: “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…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.”
In April, the group announced that they would be removing their music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus, saying in a statement: “To stand with the world in strongly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the works of Pink Floyd, from 1987 onwards, and all of David Gilmour’s solo recordings are being removed from all digital music providers in Russia an Belarus from today…Russian soldiers, stop killing your brothers. There will be no winners in this war. My daughter in law is Ukrainian and my granddaughters want to visit and know their beautiful country. Stop this before it is all destroyed.”
