Last month, we told you all about HELP(2), a star-studded charity compilation from War Child Records. That announcement came with one such A-list dispatch (Arctic Monkeys’ “Opening Night,” their first new song since 2022), and today organizers have shared another jam-packed track – led by none other than Damon Albarn.
The Gorillaz frontman has teamed up with Fontaines D.C’s Grian Chatten and poet/recording artist Kae Tempest for a track called “Flags.” Oh, but wait, the song’s star power doesn’t stop there as the trio were joined at Abbey Road Studios late last year by Johnny Marr, Portishead’s Adrian Utley, Gorillaz bassist Seye Adelekan, Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective), and a 44-piece children’s choir.
Wait, do you somehow still need even more big names attached? There was another, secondary choir comprised of, among other folks, Jarvis Cocker, The Libertines’ Carl Barat, and members of Let’s Eat Grandma, English Teacher, and Black Country New Road. I haven’t seen this much English-based talent in one place since, like, Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
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Per a press release, the resulting song is a “bold statement of resilience – finding strength within and solidarity with others.” The piano-centric jam certainly lives up to the many A-list names involved, and yet there’s also an overarching sense of intimacy and emotionality that feels fitting given the unique circumstances/attached cause. Listen to it below.
Aside from these tease tracks, the compilation boasts Olivia Rodrigo covering The Magnetic Fields’ “The Book of Love,” Fontaines D.C.’s rendition of Sinéad O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds,” and new recordings from Cameron Winter, Beabadoobee, Foals, Depeche Mode, Pulp, Big Thief, Wet Leg, Beth Gibbons, Arooj Aftab and Beck, Arlo Parks, The Last Dinner Party, Sampha, Young Fathers, and King Krule, among several others.
HELP(2) also includes a companion film produced by creative director and filmmaker Jonathan Glazer. Using the concept “By Children, For Children,” Glazer lent dozens of cameras to children throughout the album’s recording sessions, allowing them to film each artist in the studio without any restrictions.
Serving as a sequel to the original HELP charity compilation from 1995, HELP(2) supports the global children’s charity War Child UK. The project will arrive on March 6th; pre-orders are now ongoing.
HELP(2) Artwork:
HELP(2) Tracklist:
01. Arctic Monkeys – “Opening Night”
02. Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest – “Flags”
03. Black Country, New Road – “Strangers”
04. The Last Dinner Party – “Let’s do it again!”
05. Beth Gibbons – “Sunday Morning”
06. Arooj Aftab & Beck – “Lilac Wine”
07. King Krule – “The 343 Loop”
08. Depeche Mode – “Universal Soldier”
09. Ezra Collective & Greentea Peng – “Helicopters”
10. Arlo Parks – “Nothing I Could Hide”
11. English Teacher & Graham Coxon – “Parasite”
12. Beabadoobee – “Say Yes”
13. Big Thief – “Relive, Redie”
14. Fontaines D.C. – “Black Boys on Mopeds”
15. Cameron Winter – “Warning”
16. Young Fathers – “Don’t Fight the Young”
17. Pulp – “Begging for Change”
18. Sampha – “Naboo”
19. Wet Leg – “Obvious”
20. Foals – “When the War is Finally Done”
21. Bat For Lashes – “Carried my girl”
22. Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya & Dove Ellis – “Sunday Light”
23. Olivia Rodrigo – “The Book of Love”
 compilation drops a track lead by Damon Albarn and featuring Johnny Marr, Jarvis Cocker, and members of Portishead.){kind=link}