War Child UK confirm HELP(2) album: tracklist, release date & artists working on the charity record
22 January 2026, 15:03 | Updated: 28 January 2026, 10:08
The new charity compilation album for War Child is released on 6th March, with featuring Arctic Monkeys, Wet Leg, Damon Albarn, Pulp and many more.
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War Child Records have today (22nd January) announced the details of new charity record HELP(2).
The forthcoming collaborative album - inspired by the landmark release of 1995 album HELP - is set for release on Friday 6th March, with contributions from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Wet Leg, Pulp, English Teacher, Depeche Mode, Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell and Fontaines D.C.
With the announcement comes first single, Opening Night- a new track from Alex Turner and co, which marks their first music in four years.
The song also acts as an album-opener for the record, which was created "to engage music lovers globally in support of War Child's vital work delivering immediate aid, education, specialist mental health support, and protection to children affected by conflict around the world."
HELP (2) is available to pre-order here.
Listen to Arctic Monkeys' reflective new track here:
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Recorded predominantly across one week in November 2025, the record which "carries forward the spirit of the original" HELP album was formed under the stewardship of acclaimed producer James Ford and was brought to life through a close collaboration with Abbey Road Studios.
HELP (2) includes also contributions from Anna Calvi, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat For Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Black Country, New Road, Cameron Winter, Damon Albarn, Depeche Mode, Dove Ellis, Ellie Rowsell, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Foals, Fontaines D.C., Graham Coxon, Greentea Peng, Grian Chatten, Kae Tempest, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg and Young Fathers.
In addition to the musicians taking part, renowned filmmaker and Academy Award Winner Jonathan Glazer acted as Creative Director for HELP(2), working with Academy Films to oversee filming and art direction for the project.
A press release reads: "Glazer and Mica Levi’s concept was simple - “By Children, For Children” - with his team handing the cameras over to children in order to see the world through their eyes and serve as a constant reminder of the reason for the endeavor to the audience and all involved.
"Each child operated their own small camera and was invited into the studios to film the artists recording without any restrictions. In addition, Glazer’s team worked with fixers and filmmakers in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen and Sudan to gather footage filmed by children on the ground in these conflict zones. The results are a stunning piece of work that, ultimately, connects the album to the children the music seeks to help".
See the artwork for HELP(2) here and pre-order the album at https://store.warchild.org.uk/pages/sign-up.
See the full HELP(2) tracklist here:
- 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
HELP(2) is available to pre-order here.
War Child UK is driven by a single goal - ensuring a safe future for every child affected by war.
Using 30 years of experience and proven methodologies, War Child aims to reach children as quickly as possible when conflict breaks out and stays long after the cameras have gone to support them through their recovery.
War Child works with local communities and governments to help protect and educate children, and support them to heal and learn, for a safer, brighter future. Because one child caught up in conflict is one child too many.
War Child understands children’s needs, respects and stands up for their rights, and puts them at the centre of everything it does. War Child boldly campaigns on the root causes of conflict and helps to amplify children’s voices, so that it can advocate for change on the issues that matter to them.
Together with its partners, War Child delivers vital work in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Every day, its local teams are in communities and refugee camps creating safe spaces for children to play, learn, and access psychological support. War Child also specialises in responding rapidly to emergency crisis situations as they happen, offering immediate and critical aid impartially to keep children safe and help them through their trauma.War Child UK is a member of the War Child Alliance, a global foundation made up of five fundraising offices and 14 programme offices.
The story behind the original record and its recording is now legend: all of the songs were recorded on one single day, Monday 4th September 1995, mixed the following day, and released to the buying public a few days later, on Saturday 9th September. The idea to record in 24 hours came from John Lennon, who, when discussing his 1970 record ‘Instant Karma’ said that records should be like newspapers, reflecting events as they are happening.
‘HELP’ sold over 70,000 copies on day one and reached No.1 in the UK compilation charts and would have reached No.1 on the UK albums chart had it been eligible. Following its release, the record won both a specially created BRIT Award, collected by Thom Yorke, and a Q Award to recognise its impact. It was also nominated for the 1996 Mercury Prize; Pulp won that year with ‘Different Class’ but donated the prize fund to War Child.
HELP(2) is available to pre-order here.
Read more:
- Arctic Monkeys on The Car album: "We're still listening to the same instinct we were in 2005"
- The story of Arctic Monkeys' When The Sun Goes Down and why it's the band's bleakest song to date
