Arctic Monkeys have shared their first new song in four years with ‘Opening Night‘, taken from the indie all-star new War Child charity album ‘Help(2)’. Check it out below along with the full tracklist.
Rumours of the song and album started to circulate online at the start of the month when War Child Records teased a new project with “a group of artists who are working on something important” – with Arctic Monkeys, Damon Albarn, English Teacher, Young Fathers, Fontaines D.C. and producer James Ford among those following their Instagram page and sharing the news. It was then confirmed that a new song from Alex Turner and co would be the first to arrive from the album.
Today (Thursday January 22), the song has been shared along with all the details of the new collaborative album inspired by the landmark 1995 ‘HELP’ record for War Child. Produced and stewarded by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Florence + The Machine, Blur, Pet Shop Boys) ‘HELP(2)’ was recorded through “a close collaboration with Abbey Road Studios” mostly during one week in November 2025.
Alongside Alex Turner and co’s first material since 2022’s ‘The Car‘, the album also features Anna Calvi, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat For Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Portishead‘s Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Black Country, New Road, Cameron Winter, Blur’s Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon, Depeche Mode, Dove Ellis, Wolf Alice‘s Ellie Rowsell, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Foals, Fontaines D.C. and frontman Grian Chatten, Greentea Peng, Kae Tempest, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, The Smiths‘ icon Johnny Marr and Young Fathers.
The record follows more than 30 years from the original and legendary Brian Eno-led 1995 ‘Help’ album that featured Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Orbital, Portishead, Massive Attack, Suede, Sinéad O’Connor, Manic Street Preachers, The Boo Radleys and more. That album raised over £1.25million and sold over 700,000 copies, and was followed by other charity records including 2002’s ‘1 Love’, 2003’s ‘Hope’, 2005’s ‘Help!: A Day in the Life’ and 2009’s ‘War Child Presents Heroes’.
The charity works to protect, educate, and support the mental health of children affected by war – and comes at a time of conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and beyond.
“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,” said Arctic Monkeys in a press release of the Loren Humphrey-produced ‘Opening Night’. “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.”
James Ford added: “I felt incredibly honoured 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.
“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.”
Along with a slew of original tracks, the album also keeps “the spirit of the original record” via “the collaborative nature of the recording process with numerous impromptu moments unfolding in the studio”.
Damon Albarn’s session for ‘Flags’ saw him joined by Johnny Marr on guitar and Kae Tempest and Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. on vocals, while Olivia Rodrigo was connected with Graham Coxon resulting in the guitarist performing on her cover of The Magnetic Fields‘ ‘The Book of Love’.
Other collabs include Ezra Collective and Greentea Peng coming together for ‘Helicopters’, English Teacher and Graham Coxon on ‘Parasite’, Arooj Aftab and Beck covering Jeff Buckley’s ‘Lilac Wine’, and Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya and Dove Ellis all featuring on ‘Sunday Light’.
Fontaines D.C. also lend their cover of Sinead O’Connor’s beautiful ‘Black Boys On Mopeds’, while Foals lend their first new material since 2022’s ‘Life Is Yours‘ with ‘When The War is Finally Done’. Other highlights include Depeche Mode’s cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie ‘Universal Soldier’ and Geese frontman Cameron Winter’s ‘Warning’.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Jonathan Glazer also acted as Creative Director for ‘HELP(2)’ on the 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.”
Glazer added: “It has been such a privilege to be part of bringing a team together to film this incredible collective effort.”
In a statement about the importance of the record, the charity wrote that “when ‘HELP’ was first released, around 10 per cent of the world’s children were affected by conflict. Today, that figure has almost doubled to nearly 1 in 5, or 520million children worldwide; more than at any time since the Second World War.
They continued: “With conflicts escalating and funding cuts hitting hard, War Child’s work has never been more urgent and the need for these artists to carry forward the original album’s spirit of collective action could not be more vital.”
“HELP(2) is more than an album,” said Rich Clarke, Head of Music at War Child UK. “It’s a powerful example of what can happen when the music industry comes together around a shared purpose. It has united a diverse group of artists and creatives in support of War Child’s vital work with children affected by the devastating impacts of war. We are immensely grateful to all the artists and teams who have donated their voices, talent and time to support our mission to ensure that no child is caught up in conflict zones.
“We hope this record not only raises vital funds, but also awareness of the urgent need to turn compassion into action and do more to protect children living through war.”
‘Help(2)’ will be released on Friday March 6 via War Child Records and is available for pre-order here. Check out the full tracklist below.
The ‘HELP(2)’ tracklist is:
Arctic Monkeys – ‘Opening Night’
Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten, Johnny Marr & 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’
This isn’t the first time that Arctic Monkeys have supported War Child. Back in 2018 they held an unforgettable charity show at Royal Albert Hall, and two years later, released it as a live record, with all proceeds going to War Child.
The original ‘Help’ charity album was reissued and made available on streaming platforms in 2020 to celebrate its 25th anniversary. In October last year, it was then reissued again, this time as a limited, numbered 7” single boxed set in celebration of it turning 30.
As well as releasing new music under War Child Records, BRITs Week 2026 will also be returning this year, and see big names play intimate gigs to help raise awareness and funds for the charity.
The shows take place in the run up to the BRIT Awards, and this year’s performers include Fatboy Slim, Myles Smith, Lambrini Girls and more. Visit here to sign up for any remaining tickets.