Arctic Monkeys are dropping a brand new song this week to raise money for War Child.
Rumours that the Sheffield indie giants were gearing up to release new music arose earlier this month, when the non-profit organisation – which works to protect and educate children affected by war – shared a new post on social media, suggesting that a charity album was in the works.
The update shared that there was “a group of artists who are working on something important in support of War Child” and highlighted how in the 35 years since the original ‘Help’ charity album came out, the number of children affected by conflict has “nearly doubled”.
Some fans were convinced that Arctic Monkeys were involved, as the post was re-shared by their longtime producer James Ford, and drummer Matt Helders also posted the update on his Instagram Stories before the band did so themselves.
Now, War Child Records have confirmed that Alex Turner and co have joined forces with them for new music, and will be sharing a new song on Thursday (January 22) at 3pm GMT.
“New track from @arcticmonkeys and more info about our upcoming project to support children living through war,” it shared in the caption, before telling fans to sign up to be the first to hear the new music when it drops.
The post also featured a short video, showing a cinematic shot of a child running in slow-motion into the sea. In the audio, children are heard laughing, while tranquil, lightly-distorted instrumentals gradually fade in.
Little is known so far about the upcoming track, including the title, although it will mark the first new music from the band since they released their critically-acclaimed record ‘The Car’ in 2022.
After its release, the four-piece locked in a headline slot at Glastonbury 2023, and headed out on a huge world tour – which they ended in October that year by bringing out James Ford and Miles Kane as special guests.
While rumours of new music came to a head earlier this month with the aforementioned War Child update, some eagle-eyed fans noticed new movement from the band last summer too, spotting that they had quietly updated their website and launched a new recording company.
In the update on the website, the homepage had been changed to feature a simple green backdrop instead of ‘The Car’ artwork. The music store had also removed a number of items, and a new section called ‘Newsletter’ had been added.
If a full-blown new charity record is confirmed by War Child, it will follow on from the 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 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’.
At time of writing, Arctic Monkeys are the only act to be confirmed as releasing music in aid of the charity this year, although it is worth noting that the War Child Records page is also being followed by their label, Domino, as well as Damon Albarn, English Teacher, Young Fathers, Depeche Mode, Foals, Graham Coxon, Fontaines D.C. and more – possibly indicating that some of these names could be involved.
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.
