Arctic Monkeys are back with the band’s first song since 2022 — and for a good cause.
The U.K. rockers have released “Opening Night,” the first single from War Child‘s upcoming charity album “Help (2),” which will feature new tracks from a slew of big names including Olivia Rodrigo, Cameron Winter and Depeche Mode.
The new collaborative album, inspired by the iconic 1995 charity release “Help,” will drop on March 6 with proceeds benefitting War Child, which delivers “immediate aid, education, specialist mental health support and protection to children affected by conflict around the world,” according to a press release. The money raised will support War Child’s work across 14 countries, including Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine and Syria.
The list of artists contributing also includes Anna Calvi, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat for Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Black Country New Road, Damon Albarn, Dove Ellis, Ellie Rowsell, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Foals, Fontaines D.C., Graham Coxon, Greentea Peng, Grian Chatten, Kae Tempest, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg and Young Fathers.
“Help(2)” was produced by Grammy winner James Ford and recorded across one week in November 2025 at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios. Oscar-winning “The Zone of Interest” filmmaker Jonathan Glazer served as the project’s creative director, shooting the artwork and producing a trailer for the album (watch below). His concept was “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,” the release stated.
“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.”
“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,” Arctic Monkeys 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.”
According to the press release, the recording process resulting in collaborations including: “Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest’s ‘super-group’ included all of Johnny Marr, Dave Okumu and Portishead’s Adrian Utley laying down guitar, Gorillaz’ Seye Adelekan on bass, Femi Koleoso from Ezra Collective on drums, as well as an all-star choir including Jarvis Cocker, Marr, Carl Barat, Declan McKenna, English Teacher, Black Country, New Road, Marika Hackman, Rosa Walton and Nadia Kadek; Graham Coxon ended up playing guitar for Olivia Rodrigo’s cover of The Magnetic Fields’ ‘The Book of Love’; Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell joined Anna Calvi, Nilüfer Yanya and Dove Ellis for the new song ‘Sunday Light,’ having received an invite to perform on the day of recording itself; and Cameron Winter brought cello player Amy Langley into his intimate Abbey Road recording.”
The original “Help” album in 1995 raised over £1.2 million ($1.6 million), enabling War Child to provide vital support to children affected by the Bosnian conflict. It was led by Brian Eno and featured contributions from the biggest names in music at the time, including Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Portishead, Sinéad O’Connor, Paul McCartney and Paul Weller.
See the full “Help(2)” tracklist 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”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com ’
