Legendary Britpop outfit Pulp just upped the ante for the most anticipated compilation of the year. Their new single, “Begging For Change,” arrived today as the latest preview of HELP(2), a massive star-studded benefit album arriving March 6 via War Child Records.
A “Primal” Collaboration for a Global Cause
“Begging For Change” finds Jarvis Cocker and company at their most urgent. Mixed by James Ford, the track features a haunting kids’ choir—the same one heard on the recent Damon Albarn and Grian Chatten collaboration “Flags”—interspersed with “boisterous screams.”
Adding to the track’s sheer star power, a secondary choir provides backing vocals, featuring a “who’s who” of modern alt-rock: Damon Albarn, Kae Tempest, Carl Barât (The Libertines), and Grian Chatten (Fontaines D.C.). The result is a stripped-back, unapologetic anthem that sounds unlike anything else on the contemporary charts.
Jarvis Cocker’s Full Circle Moment
The release carries deep emotional weight for the band. Exactly 30 years ago, Pulp’s seminal album Different Class beat the original HELP compilation for the Mercury Prize. In a legendary gesture, Cocker dedicated the win to War Child and donated the £25,000 prize money.
“Thirty years ago we gave our Mercury Prize to War Child,” Cocker stated in a press release. “This year we have given more. How much more? You’ll have to wait and see.”
HELP(2): The Tracklist of the Year
Pulp joins an elite roster for the sequel to the 1995 original. HELP(2) features 23 tracks, including the first new music from Arctic Monkeys since 2022 (“Opening Night”) and Olivia Rodrigo covering The Magnetic Fields’ “The Book of Love.”
The project also includes a companion film by Oscar-nominated director Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), shot entirely by children who were given cameras to document the recording sessions “without restrictions.”
HELP(2) Tracklist:
01. Arctic Monkeys – “Opening Night”
02. Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest – “Flags”
03. Black Country, New Road – “Strangers”
04. The Last Dinner Party – “Let’s do it again!”
05. Beth Gibbons – “Sunday Morning”
06. Arooj Aftab & Beck – “Lilac Wine”
07. King Krule – “The 343 Loop”
08. Depeche Mode – “Universal Soldier”
09. Ezra Collective & Greentea Peng – “Helicopters”
10. Arlo Parks – “Nothing I Could Hide”
11. English Teacher & Graham Coxon – “Parasite”
12. Beabadoobee – “Say Yes”
13. Big Thief – “Relive, Redie”
14. Fontaines D.C. – “Black Boys on Mopeds”
15. Cameron Winter – “Warning”
16. Young Fathers – “Don’t Fight the Young”
17. Pulp – “Begging for Change”
18. Sampha – “Naboo”
19. Wet Leg – “Obvious”
20. Foals – “When the War is Finally Done”
21. Bat For Lashes – “Carried my girl”
22. Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya & Dove Ellis – “Sunday Light”
23. Olivia Rodrigo – “The Book of Love”