Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders has spoken about the chances of a live show to support the War Child album ‘Help(2)’.
The all-star charity album was announced last month, with the first song to be shared being Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Opening Night’, the first new song from the Sheffield band in four years.
‘Help(2)’ is a spiritual sequel to the landmark 1995 release ‘HELP’, and it features a huge list of contributors, including Damon Albarn, English Teacher, Fontaines D.C., Johnny Marr, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp and Depeche Mode. The album will be released on March 6 and is available for pre-order here.
Helmed by producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Florence + The Machine, Blur, Pet Shop Boys), the record was recorded through “a close collaboration with Abbey Road Studios” mostly during one week in November 2025.
Proceeds will go to the War Child charity, which works to protect, educate and support the mental health of children affected by war – and it comes at a time of conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and beyond.
In a new interview on Radio X, Helders has discussed the possibility of a one-off charity show to mark the album’s release. “I mean, there’s, there’s nothing that I know about at the moment, but I had the same thought that […] I’m sure the people behind the scenes are thinking about doing something like that,” he said.
“This kind of thing often comes hand in hand with some special occasion, but nothing that I know about at the moment.”
He also revealed that he has not heard the rest of the album yet, as the organisers are “running a pretty tight ship”, but said he is “really excited” to hear the 22-song tracklist. “There was no one [who] had to get their arm twisted to get involved in this,” he added.
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.
Helders has said that it was “a great time” for them to come back together to record ‘Opening Night’, and that he enjoyed being able to “see everyone and to fall back into the roles that we’ve always had with each other, musically and personally.”
“Sometimes we might not see each other for six months, but when we do it’s like we were never apart,” he admitted. “That’s just how we are with people, with each other. It translates musically as well. We just had a couple of days doing this and it felt like nothing had happened; [that there was] no space between.”
He has also revealed that there are no imminent plans to get back into the recording studio, although he ruled nothing out, saying making music is “something we love to do”.
James Ford, meanwhile, has said some artists refused to be involved in ‘Help(2)’, saying it was “actually a great insight into the industry: which people are willing to do something. People who you’d think would be into it flat-out refused because they saw it as too political or something like that. It was fascinating.”.
