Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo and Depeche Mode are among the massive names set to feature on an upcoming charity compilation raising money for War Child.
HELP(2) will be released on March 6 via War Child Records, and will raise funds for young people and children whose lives are impacted by armed conflicts. Pre-orders for the upcoming compilation are open on War Child’s website.
The LP features a number of huge British and international names, including Beck, Fontaines D.C., Pulp, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg and more.
“Opening Night,” the first track to be released from the LP, marks the first original music from Arctic Monkeys since the release of their Grammy-nominated seventh LP, The Car, in 2022. The group concluded touring in support of the album in October 2023, following a U.K. stadium tour and a Glastonbury headline set.
The album was predominantly recorded over a single week at London’s Abbey Road Studios under the stewardship of acclaimed producer James Ford, who has worked extensively with the Sheffield-formed rockers and many of the featured artists throughout their careers.
“When James Ford called and asked if we’d contribute to the HELP(2) album we set to work on a song idea and assembled in Abbey Road to record it,” the band said in a statement. “We are proud to support the invaluable work War Child do and hope the record will make a positive difference to the lives of children affected by war.”
Their track “Opening Night” continues with the lush production heard on The Car, with nods to the band’s Humbug era, their scuzzy 2009 LP recorded with Queens of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Ford. Olivia Rodrigo provides an intimate cover of The Magnetic Fields’ 1999 cult hit “The Book of Love” for the LP’s closing track.
HELP(2) is the latest in a series of War Child compilations that stretch back over 30 years. In 1995, the HELP album featured contributions from Paul McCartney, Blur, Paul Weller, Radiohead, Oasis and Manic Street Preachers in sessions helmed by producer Brian Eno. The album went on to raise more than £1.2 million ($1.6 million U.S.) for War Child to support children caught in the Bosnian conflict.
A sequel, War Child Presents 1 Love, was released in 2002 in conjunction with music magazine NME, with further LPs issued in 2003, 2005 and 2009. Last year, the original title celebrated its 30th anniversary with a reissue of the first record.
The new compilation takes inspiration from the original HELP sessions in 1995, which were recorded in a single day. This time, recordings unfolded over the course of a week, and a press statement said many of the collaborations were “unplanned or extremely last minute.” Director Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest, Under the Skin) has produced a trailer to accompany the release, which is available to watch below.
Speaking on the release, Ford said: “I felt incredibly honored when War Child asked me to work on HELP(2). The original HELP meant a lot to me and to have the opportunity, given the current news cycle, to help galvanize our music community into doing something as unarguably positive as helping children in war zones seemed like a no brainer.”
Ford, who announced in January 2025 that he was receiving treatment for leukemia, continued: “The experience of making the album itself has been very powerful, and dare I say life affirming for me personally, against the backdrop of a very difficult year. I’m extremely proud of the results and of the efforts made by all involved. I can’t wait for people to hear this very special record.”
A number of the artists have covered classic hits for their contributions: Fontaines D.C. provides a new version of Sinead O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds,” Beabadoobee covers Elliot Smith’s “Say Yes” and Depeche Mode records Donovan’s “Universal Soldier.”
See the full tracklist for the upcoming compilation below:
- Arctic Monkeys – “Opening Night”
- Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest – “Flags”
- Black Country, New Road – “Strangers”
- The Last Dinner Party – “Let’s Do It Again!”
- Beth Gibbons – “Sunday Morning”
- Arooj Aftab & Beck – “Lilac Wine”
- King Krule – “The 343 Loop”
- Depeche Mode – “Universal Soldier”
- Ezra Collective & Greentea Peng – “Helicopters”
- Arlo Parks – “Nothing I Could Hide”
- English Teacher & Graham Coxon – “Parasite”
- Beabadoobee – “Say Yes”
- Big Thief – “Relive, Redie”
- Fontaines D.C. – “Black Boys on Mopeds”
- Cameron Winter – “Warning”
- Young Fathers – “Don’t Fight the Young”
- Pulp – “Begging for Change”
- Sampha – “Naboo”
- Wet Leg – “Obvious”
- Foals – “When the War Is Finally Done”
- Bat for Lashes – “Carried My Girl”
- Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya & Dove Ellis – “Sunday Light”
- Olivia Rodrigo – “The Book of Love”
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