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It looks like another album for War Child is on the way – are Arctic Monkeys involved?

Written by: News Room
It looks like another album for War Child is on the way – are Arctic Monkeys involved?

It looks like another star-studded album is on the way from War Child, and fans are speculating that Arctic Monkeys could be involved. Fontaines D.C. and Damon Albarn also look set to feature.

The charity, which works to protect, educate, and support the mental health of children affected by war, first dropped a charity album back in 1995 in a bid to raise funds for young people caught up in the Bosnian conflict.

Titled ‘Help’, the record was mastered by Brian Eno, featured artwork from John Squire, and recorded in just one day. The record saw acts like Oasis and Blur appear on the same record for the first and only time, and also included contributions from Radiohead, Orbital, Portishead, Massive Attack, Suede, Sinéad O’Connor, Manic Street Preachers, The Boo Radleys and more.

It raised over £1.25million for the non-profit organisation, 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’.

Now, it looks like another record is on the way. Yesterday (Wednesday January 7), a new account was launched on Instagram with the handle @WarChildRecords, and it shared a post that revealed that “there is a group of artists who are working on something important in support of War Child”.

It also highlighted how, at the time that the ‘Help’ came out in 1995, “10 per cent of the world’s children were affected by conflict”. This figure, over the past three decades has now “doubled to 19 per cent, affecting 520 million children”.

While no further details about a new charity record have been announced yet, it does look like producer James Ford is helming it, as he has shared the same post as on the War Child Records page onto his own account, as well as a link where fans can sign up for more information.

The producer is best recognised for his efforts with Arctic Monkeys, and has also worked on music for the likes of Gorillaz, Florence + The Machine, Depeche Mode, Blur, Pet Shop Boys, Fontaines D.C., Pulp, The Last Dinner Party, Foals, Geese and many more over the years.

Fans are now speculating that Arctic Monkeys may feature in the project by lending a song as not only do they regularly work with Ford, but the band’s account also follows the new War Child Records Instagram Page. As well as the Sheffield indie giants following the account, the page is also being followed by their label, Domino, along with the likes of Damon Albarn, English Teacher, Young Fathers and more – suggesting that they could perhaps have recorded songs for the new release too. Albarn and Fontaines D.C. have also shared the account’s message on their Instagram stories.

On top of that, Arctic Monkeys’ drummer Matt Helders has also shared the post on his Instagram Stories – which many believe shows that he is part of the upcoming release.

Already, fans are getting excited about the possibility of Arctic Monkeys being part of the new release – particularly since it would mark their first new music since their 2022 album ‘The Car’, and one of their first announcements as a band since headlining Glastonbury in 2023. Many have taken to social media and Reddit to join the discussion.

“ITS TRUE ARCTIC MONKEYS FOLLOW THE WAR CHILD INSTA ACCOUNT,” wrote one fan, sharing a screenshot of the charity’s new page. Another shared a similar screenshot that showed that both the band and James Ford were following War Child Records and wrote the simple caption: “Well…”

“Today, War Child created an Instagram page about the charity album… The official Arctic Monkeys account started following the profile, and the drummer Matt Helders reposted it in his stories,” highlighted another fan.

Others are speculating that the record will also feature Fontaines D.C., Depeche Mode, English Teacher, Albarn.

If Arctic Monkeys were to get involved in a new War Child album, it wouldn’t be the first time that they had done work to help support the charity. 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.

NME has reached out to an Arctic Monkeys spokesperson for comment, along with representatives from 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.

At the time, some of those who featured with the original recording spoke out about the legacy of the record, and the importance of War Child’s efforts.

“We’re now 30 years on from the heart of the 1990s, and amongst the nostalgia for all things Britpop, it should be remembered that the most important thing to have come out of that period was the War Child album ‘Help’,” said Sice of The Boo Radleys.

As well as releasing various charity albums over the years, War Child also hosts an annual week of live performances to help raise funds. These all take place around the time of the BRIT Awards, and offer the chance for fans to see big names play in intimate venues. Tickets are often sold via a raffle, and past names who have got played include Kasabian, Muse, Foals, AURORA, Florence + The Machine, and Coldplay.

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