Pink Floyd Members To Release Music After Almost 3 Decades In Support Of Ukraine

Pink Floyd is all set to release new music after almost three decades in a bid to raise money for the people of war-torn Ukraine, the English band said in a statement Thursday.

The charity single "Hey Hey Rise Up" features the famous guitarist-drummer duo from the 70s -- David Gilmour and Nick Mason, with vocals from Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the band BoomBox. Roger Waters, who left the band in the 1980s, isn't part of the song, the Associated Press reported.

The track, slated to release Friday, will have lead vocals by Khlyvnyuk, who recorded himself in full military gear singing the patriotic Ukrainian song "The Red Viburnum in the Meadow," while standing in front of Kyiv’s Sofiyskaya Square, according to the Rolling Stone.

Gilmour, who performed with BoomBox in London in 2015, was inspired by the tune, and decided to create a song based on it. On March 30, the new song was recorded with Nick Mason, bassist Guy Pratt, and keyboardist Nitin Sawhney, according to Rolling Stone. Khlyvnyuk's vocals were tailored into the new Pink Floyd number, which was the first-ever new original music to be recorded by the English band since 1994’s "The Division Bell," the Pink Floyd statement mentioned.

The song's video shows the band recording the tune with a Ukrainian flag on display as well as Khlyvnyuk's video playing on the background wall. The last line of the song translates as "Hey hey, rise up and rejoice."

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Khlyvnyuk cut short a trip to the U.S. to join a territorial defense unit in his country. Gilmour said he spoke to Khlyvnyuk, who is now recovering at a hospital from a shrapnel injury.

"I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future," Gilmour said in a statement, according to Variety.

Gilmour further said the aim of the new song was to raise charitable funds for those suffering in Ukraine. "We want 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," he said in the statement.