"Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" (also written "Hey Hey Rise Up") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on streaming and downloading platforms on 8 April 2022. It is based on a 1914 Ukrainian anthem, "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow", and features vocals in Ukrainian by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band BoomBox. The track is the first entirely new piece of music recorded by Pink Floyd since 1994; guitarist David Gilmour was inspired to record it in support of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion.
In February 2022, the Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk, who had abandoned a US tour by his band BoomBox to serve in the Ukrainian military in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, recorded an a capella version of the first verse of the Ukrainian anthem "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow" (Ukrainian: Ой у лузі червона калина). The anthem was written by Stepan Charnetskii in 1914 to commemorate the Sich Riflemen. Khlyvnyuk, wearing fatigues and carrying an automatic rifle, videoed his performance in Sophia Square in Kyiv, with the Bell Tower of Saint Sophia Cathedral in the background, and posted it on Instagram on 27 February.
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, seen in 2015
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour was shown the Instagram post by the Ukrainian artist Janina Pedan,[5] who is married to his son Charlie,[6] and was inspired to record something in support of Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. He contacted Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and suggested they collaborate. Pink Floyd had been inactive for several years, and Gilmour had said several times that the band would not reunite; however, the war encouraged him to release the track as Pink Floyd as it was a "big platform" and it was "vitally" important to raise awareness about the war. He said: "It's a really difficult and frustrating thing to see this extraordinarily crazy, unjust attack by a major power on an independent, peaceful, democratic nation."
Khlyvnyuk, while recovering in hospital from a shrapnel wound sustained in defence of Ukraine, gave Gilmour his blessing to use his vocals. Gilmour wrote extra music, including a guitar solo.
Gilmour had previously been backed by BoomBox—without Khlyvnyuk—in 2015, at Koko, London, in support of the Belarus Free Theatre.
"Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" was recorded on 30 March 2022 at Gilmour's home[2] by Gilmour and Mason with Guy Pratt, bassist with Pink Floyd since 1987, and keyboardist Nitin Sawhney. It was Sawhney's first work with Pink Floyd. Gala Wright, the daughter of late Pink Floyd keyboardist and founding member Richard Wright, was also present during the recording.
The song—whose title comes from the last line of "Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow", which some translations give as "Hey, hey, rise up and rejoice"—opens with a sample from another recording of Charnetskii's anthem, by the Veryovka Ukrainian Folk Choir.
Pink Floyd had already removed music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus. Their work with Roger Waters remained, leading to speculation that Waters had blocked its removal; Gilmour said only that "I was disappointed ... Read into that what you will."
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