Pink Floyd Release New Version Of “A Great Day for Freedom”

Pink Floyd is now streaming a newly-released version of their 1994 classic “A Great Day for Freedom.”

Initially appeared on the band’s 1994 album, The Division Bell, and was inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now, the updated rendition of “A Great Day for Freedom,” will serve as the B-side for the physical copy of their latest single after 28 years, “Hey Hey Rise Up,” which came out earlier in April.

The band noted on the message accompanying the new version’s video:

“David [Gilmour] has, for some time, wanted to record a simpler more direct version of the song.

“So here it is, with a newly edited video taken from a Pulse rehearsal during Pink Floyd’s two-week run at Earl’s Court, London, in 1994.”

Gilmour explained to Guitar World in ’94 about the song’s inspiration:

“There was a wonderful moment of optimism when the Wall came down – the release of Eastern Europe from the non-democratic side of the socialist system.

“But what they have now doesn’t seem to be much better. Again, I’m fairly pessimistic about it all. I sort of wish and live in hope, but I tend to think that history moves at a much slower pace than we think it does. I feel that real change takes a long, long time.”

You can stream the new official version of “A Great Day for Freedom” below.