David Gilmore spoke about his attitude to the war in Ukraine and a new recording using the singing of a Ukrainian musician who is now defending the country with weapons.
A few weeks ago, Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmore was asked if he had seen the Instagram page of Ukrainian Boombox frontman Andriy Khlyvnyuk. Gilmore performed with Boombox in 2015 at a charity concert of the Belarusian Free Theater. They then played a short set of Pink Floyd songs, as well as several solo works by Gilmore. But since then, much has changed dramatically. In late February, Khlyvnyuk canceled the Boombox tour of the United States to fight the Russian invasion.
According to The Guardian, Gilmore found a video on Instagram in which a Ukrainian singer in military uniform and with a machine gun on his shoulder performs the song “Oh, red viburnum in the meadow” without accompaniment. This is a battle song of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen of 1914, with which they fought first during the First World War and then during the War of Independence.
“I thought: it is quite magical. And maybe I can do something about it. I have a great foundation that Pink Floyd has been working on all these years. It is very difficult and sad to see this extremely crazy, unjustified attack of a great power against an independent, peaceful, democratic nation. It's sad to see this and think, “What the hell can I do?” Is unbearable, “said the British musician.
That's how Pink Floyd's new single Hey Hey, Rise Up! Was written. It uses Khlyvnyuk's singing. The song will be released on Friday at midnight. And all proceeds will go to humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Most observers believed that Pink Floyd had long since disintegrated. The last time they released new records was 28 years ago. However, in 2014, Gilmore and drummer Nick Mason reunited to turn excerpts from their 1994 album, The Division Bell, into a predominantly instrumental collection, The Endless River. It was a tribute to the late keyboardist Rick Wright. In those days, Gilmore insisted that this was the last work of the band, whose history began in 1965. During this time, 250 million copies of their albums have been sold. Pink Floyd could not give concerts or record music without Wright, who died of cancer in 2008. “It's a pity, but it's over,” Gilmore told the BBC at the time. Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed his mind.
Read also: Boombox leader Andriy Khlyvnyuk was injured in the shelling
I hate it when people say things like, “Like a father, I….” But this is part of the case when you have an extended Ukrainian family. My great-grandchildren are half Ukrainian. My daughter-in-law, Yanina, is Ukrainian. Her grandmother lived in Kharkiv three weeks ago. She is very old and in a wheelchair. Janina and her family were able to transport her across the whole of Ukraine to the Polish border, and then last week she was brought to Sweden, “Gilmore said.
“Picking up the chords for Khlyvnyuk's singing and writing another section for himself,” Gilmore said, rolling his eyes, “the guitar god mode has started.”
Last week, he quickly organized a recording session with Mason, longtime Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt, and musician, producer and composer Nitin Sony, who took on the role of keyboardist. They were able to combine Khlyvnyuk's singing with their music. Rick Wright's daughter, Gala, also took part in the recording. The musicians also shot a video for a new song in which Mason plays drums painted by Ukrainian artist Maria Pryimachenko (the fate of her paintings after the bombing of Ivankov is still unknown).
“I called Nick and said, 'I want to make this song for Ukraine. I would be very happy if you played in it. And I would be very happy if you agreed to publish it on behalf of Pink Floyd, “said Gilmore, adding that his fellow musician fully supported him.
“I would not do it for many other reasons. But it is vital that people understand what is happening now and do everything in their power to change the situation. I also think that my support and support of Pink Floyd for Ukrainians can lift the spirits in these regions. They need to know that the whole world supports them, “Gilmore said.
“When I talked to Andriy Khlyvnyuk, he told me about the things he saw. And he told him: “Did you know that here in England the BBC and all the TV channels in the world talked about it? Everyone sees these terrible things happening. ” He replied, “Really? I did not know”. I don't think most people out there have anyone to talk to, and they don't really understand that the whole world sees everything they're going through now, “the musician added.
Read also: NYT: War in Ukraine – this is the end of decades of global peace
Gilmore said that it took him time to find Khlyvnyuk or his phone number. Eventually, the Briton found an email address.
“He asked to talk to FaceTime. I think he wanted to make sure it was really me. The next time I saw him like this, he was in the hospital, wounded by a shrapnel. He showed me this tiny piece of shrapnel a quarter of an inch in size that hit him in the cheek. He keeps it in a plastic bag. But imagine if such things happen, this piece could be more than an inch in diameter. And then he would just tear his head off, “Gilmore said.
Before the unexpected resurgence of Pink Floyd after 1987, the solo recordings of the band's founder Sid Barrett were removed from streaming services in Russia and Belarus as part of a cultural boycott. The most famous works of the 1960s and 1970s have not been deleted. This has sparked rumors that it could be related to former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters, whose relationship with other ex-colleagues is very strained. A week before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Waters told Russia Today that talking about a possible Russian attack was “a delusion – anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows it's nonsense.” In the end, he condemned the invasion, calling it a “gangster act.” At the same time, he condemned “propaganda that demonizes Russia.” Gilmore did not want to talk about this episode.
“Let's just say I'm disappointed and we'll move on. Understand it as you please, “said the legendary rock musician.
He said that the last time he talked to Khlyvnyuk was on Tuesday.
He said that he had the most hellish a day imaginable. After all, I had to go to collect the bodies of Ukrainians, Ukrainian children, to help clear the streets. You know, our little problems are becoming so insignificant and small in the context of what he has to do, “Gilmore added.
However, he sent a recording to his Ukrainian colleague. Khlyvnyuk liked the song. “
” I'll show you what he said, “Gilmore said, flipping through the phone to find a message from Khlyvnyuk.
Thank you, it's fabulous. One day we'll play it together and then we'll have a drink, I'll treat you, “Gilmore smiled.” I said, yes, let's do it. “
