War Child UK looks to ‘Help’ again with a new benefit album, 30 years after its first success

By GLENN GAMBOA

War Child UK’s first benefit compilation album was a stunning success when it debuted in 1995. Reaching No. 1 on the British charts, “Help” raised more than 1.25 million pounds (about $1.938 million) for the nonprofit’s support to children and their families in war-torn Bosnia.

Packed with unreleased songs from Britpop’s elite artists — including Oasis, Blur and Radiohead — as well as a supergroup that included Paul McCartney and Paul Weller, it’s no wonder that Rich Clarke, War Child UK’s head of music, says the charity has been looking to recreate ever since.

For a variety of reasons, an all-star follow-up to “Help” never materialized — until now. On Friday, “Help(2)” will hit stores and streaming platforms, powered by unreleased songs from Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Wet Leg and others, to raise funds and awareness for children suffering in numerous war zones, including Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.

“I think it’s a situation now where musicians feel not that they want to do something, but that they need to do something,” Clarke said. “That’s a powerful driver. And sometimes, things happen when they’re meant to happen.”

Jarvis Cocker found inspiration in kids

Jarvis Cocker’s connection to War Child UK stretches back to 1996, when his band Pulp donated the financial windfall from winning the prestigious Mercury Prize to the charity.

So when James Ford — who produced Pulp’s first new album in 24 years, “More,” last year — approached Cocker about contributing a song to a War Child UK compilation, he jumped at the chance.

“When the last one happened, it was something like 10% of the world’s kids were living in poor areas, and now it’s more like 20%,” Cocker told The Associated Press. “And it’s a strange thing, you know, childhood sets you up for the rest of your life or it doesn’t.”

Pulp’s contribution ended up being “Begging for Change,” a song Cocker said he started 14 years ago, but had trouble finishing. “Somehow, with it having the focus of trying to help some people and change their situation, I did manage to finish it,” he said. “And I’m quite pleased with the result.”

Part of that success on the energetic track came from the unusual recording process at Abbey Road Studios in London, Cocker said.

“I’ve never allowed people to film me singing in the studio because that’s the time when I try and become unselfconscious,” he said, adding he soon learned the session would be filmed by numerous children working on a documentary of the process with director Jonathan Glazer.

“I thought it was a good idea,” Cocker said. “I mean, if you’re going to do a thing for a charity that is supposed to help children in war zones, then it makes sense to capture it from a child’s point of view.”

Cocker even had some of the children form a choir that appears on the song. Having the children as part of the process served as a good reminder of what Pulp and War Child UK were trying to accomplish.

“Charity shouldn’t have to exist if governments did what they were supposed to, if they looked after people and looked after the world,” Cocker said. “But they do need to exist. They need to exist even more now.”

Benefit compilations attract new generations

Benefit compilations are part of a long tradition in indie music and a natural way for artists to get involved with charities and issues they want to support, said John Nolan, guitarist and singer in the rock bands Taking Back Sunday and Straylight Run.

“It’s something that we can be a lot more hands-on with,” said Nolan, who released the compilation “ Music for Everyone, Vol. 2 ” in November as a fundraiser for the American Civil Liberties Union. “I think that’s also why a lot of more underground bands take on compilations for causes too, because it’s something you can be kind of DIY with.”

The British band Black Country, New Road said it’s important for artists to lend their creativity to causes and charities they believe in. Contributing their song “Strangers” to the War Child UK compilation is simply a continuation of their work, which includes fundraisers for Palestinian children.

“With what was going on in the world a couple of years ago, I think it became important to us that we became more aware and started questioning things and how we wanted to move as artists,” said violinist Georgia Ellery of Black Country, New Road.

Graham Hastings of the Scottish band Young Fathers said it was a “no-brainer” to get involved with the “Help(2)” compilation.

“When you see children in these refugee camps, for me it’s a sign of humanity failing for that to even occur,” he said. “For us, the important thing is for people just to feel a general awareness about what’s happening and why it’s happening, and get active and get involved in the community.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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