Return and purpose of the release
The British band Arctic Monkeys has released their first track since The Car (2022) — “Opening Night.”
All proceeds from the release go to support the charity War Child, reports The Guardian.
Who is on the HELP(2) project
HELP(2) is a follow-up to the famous album Help (1995), and it includes both scene veterans (Portishead, Blur, Pulp, Beck, Depeche Mode) and contemporary artists (Olivia Rodrigo, Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg, Sampha).
Director and documentation
Oscar-winning director Jonathan Glazer worked on the project; he enlisted children from conflict zones, including from Ukraine, as well as British schoolchildren to document the creation of the album.
“We hope the album will help improve the lives of children who are suffering from war”
— musicians, quoted by The Guardian
Why this matters
According to War Child, while in 1995 wars affected roughly 10% of children worldwide, that figure has now risen to 20% — about 520 million children.
HELP(2) has two aims: to raise funds and to increase the visibility of the plight of children in conflict zones — a factor that can accelerate the flow of resources to organizations working on the ground.
What happens next
Musical initiatives of this scale act as a form of diplomacy and civic solidarity: they draw attention, create resources, and shape the narrative. It is now important that the funds raised do not remain only in general reports but go to concrete programs assisting children in conflict zones, including those affected in Ukraine.
