Almost three decades later Pink Floyd releases a song!

“Hey Hey Rise Up”

Pink Floyd’s newest single has been recorded and released in hopes to raise aid for Ukraine. 

Pink Floyd has more history than all contemporary students at ILS so here’s a recap:

• 1965: the band formed, originally,  with Bob Klose and Roger Waters on guitars, Nick Mason on drums, Rick Wright on keyboards and wind instruments, and Chris Dennis as lead vocalist. It wasn’t long before Syd Barrett replaced Klose.
• 1967: the band released their first album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.
• 1968: Barrett was replaced by David Glimour because of his rebellious and erratic behavior.
• 1970: Atom Heart Mother was released.
• 1971: Band tours Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia. Meddle was released, which later would be known as the album that defined Pink Floyd.
• 1973: The Dark Side Of The Moon, Floyd’s most popular album to date, was released.
• 1975:Wish You Were Here, a combination of commentary on the music industry and tribute to Syd Barrett, was released.
• 1979: The Wall was released and led to a smaller role in the band given to Rick Wright.
• 1983: the recording and release of The Final Cut led to problems in the group surrounding Roger Waters.
• 1985: Waters leaves the band and sues them for continuing to use Pink Floyd as the bands name. Waters loses the case and the band minus Waters continues.
• 1987: A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the first post water album, is released. 
• 1994: The band’s last recorded album, The Division Bell, was released.
• 2006: Syd Barrett dies from diabetes at the age of 60.
• 2008: Rick Wright dies of cancer at the age of 65.

Now, after 28 years since their last release, “Hey Hey Rise Up” makes a debut on April 8, 2022. The song is a rendition of the 1914 Ukrainian anthem “Oh, The Red Viburnum in the Meadow.” Gilmour and Mason are accompanied on the track by bassist Guy Prat, who joined the band in ‘87, and keyboardist Nitin Sawhaney. Andriy Khlyvnyuk joins the band on the song. Khlyvnyuk is a Ukrainian musician who preforms the vocals on the song.

“We, like so many others, have been experiencing the rage and the frustration of an independent, peaceful democratic nation being invaded and having its people slaughtered by one of the world’s main powers,” Gilmour, who has Ukrainian family, says.

The response to the song has been all over the spectrum. Many Pink Floyd fans think that the song is tainting their legacy. In all honesty, there is not much people can say because of the goal of this song. “Hey Hey Rise Up” is a benefit song and because of that anyone who has a negative opinion will almost automatically be pinned as “anti-Ukraine.” The song doesn’t even compare to their previous songs but it’s not meant to be compared. 

Pink Floyd, what’s left of them, chose to do something that means something. For that they should be praised, regardless of whether or not the song was good.