{"id":41798,"date":"2026-03-06T05:15:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=41798"},"modified":"2026-03-06T05:15:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:15:46","slug":"help-was-one-of-the-great-charity-albums-can-a-sequel-match-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=41798","title":{"rendered":"Help was one of the great charity albums. Can a sequel match it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\"><span>Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=7dcec7b3-6e3e-4999-81d1-0bf80bf25ea7\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>This week marks the arrival of a sequel to one of the best albums in the often spotty format of the charity compilation. <em>Help(2)<\/em> is a collection of songs by mostly British acts but also Irish and US ones too, ranging from the old guard of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and Pulp to younger musicians such as The Last Dinner Party and Fontaines DC. It has been put together by War Child, the international charity for children in combat zones.<\/p>\n<p><em>Help(2) <\/em>is the follow-up to <em>Help<\/em>, which came out in 1995 when War Child was a fledgling organisation aiding children in the Bosnian war. Like the soundtrack to <em>Trainspotting<\/em>, but more comprehensive in scope, the first compilation was a snapshot of its era. It reflected a boom time for British music, with a Glastonbury-style line-up drawn from Britpop, trip-hop, big beat and dance music.<\/p>\n<p>The new compilation is cast in a similar mould. It has 24 tracks compared with the original\u2019s 20. Oasis have donated a live version of \u201cAcquiesce\u201d from their comeback tour, while Arctic Monkeys are debuting their first song in four years. Pulp, Portishead\u2019s Beth Gibbons and Blur\u2019s Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon return from the class of \u201895. Newcomers are mostly drawn from indie music. One of pop\u2019s biggest stars, Olivia Rodrigo, covers \u201cThe Book of Love\u201d by The Magnetic Fields, cult purveyors of lo-fi literariness.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"yjhxudsr\" class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae36cf2c5-8e31-4e19-bf03-a09329d915d7?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae36cf2c5-8e31-4e19-bf03-a09329d915d7?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae36cf2c5-8e31-4e19-bf03-a09329d915d7?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae36cf2c5-8e31-4e19-bf03-a09329d915d7?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=4 4x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ae36cf2c5-8e31-4e19-bf03-a09329d915d7?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=5 5x\" width=\"3863\" height=\"2575\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>Paul Weller, Tony Crean and Paul McCartney at Abbey Road studios during the recording of 1995\u2019s \u2018Help\u2019<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Martyn Goodacre\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>War Child\u2019s aims are the same as in 1995, although its field of operation has expanded to 14 conflict zones, including Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine. The urgency of its work is brought home by the coincidence of <em>Help(2)<\/em>\u2019s release at a time when Iran has come under heavy bombardment from the US and Israel, with Iranian authorities reporting more than 160 deaths, mostly of young children, after a strike on a girls\u2019 school. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"n-content-pullquote o3-editorial-typography-pullquote n-content-pullquote--no-image\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p>We tried to make something you listen to in an old-school way\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009We arranged the songs as sides of vinyl rather than as an amorphous blob on a streaming service<\/p>\n<footer class=\"o3-editorial-typography-pullquote__author\">Album producer James Ford<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But there\u2019s also a discontinuity between the first and second compilations. James Ford, who has worked previously with many of the acts, is <em>Help(2)<\/em>\u2019s producer. \u201cI remember the first <em>Help<\/em> record,\u201d he says. \u201cI was in my teens, and I remember what a cultural moment it was. That\u2019s definitely something that we aspire to with this record. But we\u2019re under no illusions that it\u2019s more difficult to create something like that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 1995, <em>Help<\/em> sold 70,000 copies in a single day. It would have topped the main UK album chart, had it not fallen prey to a pernickety rule disbarring multi-artist compilations. Now, <em>Help(2)<\/em> faces a bigger obstacle. With the collapse of physical sales \u2014 notwithstanding the important niche market for vinyl \u2014 it has become harder to make money from albums. In that sense, War Child\u2019s new compilation is a throwback to a vanished age.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe tried really hard to make it something you could listen to in an old-school way,\u201d Ford says. \u201cI imagined it as being on a piece of vinyl. Even as we arranged the songs, we were doing it as sides of vinyl rather than as something that we thought would be an amorphous blob on a streaming service.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"erxchepn\" class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ab80dfb63-029f-4734-81b4-38c278c72a23?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3Ab80dfb63-029f-4734-81b4-38c278c72a23?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x\" width=\"2024\" height=\"1349\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fb80dfb63-029f-4734-81b4-38c278c72a23.jpg?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1\" alt=\"Artists Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest in a recording studio.\" data-image-type=\"image\" width=\"2024\" height=\"1349\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest during a recording session for the \u2018Help(2)\u2019 album<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Lawrence Watson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Help<\/em> earned more than \u00a31.25mn, almost \u00a32.6mn in today\u2019s money. It was instrumental in setting the new charity on its feet. \u201cIf that hadn\u2019t come along, War Child would have undoubtedly disbanded,\u201d says Rich Clarke, who heads its music wing.<\/p>\n<p>Clarke would be delighted if <em>Help(2)<\/em> can earn the comparatively much lower sum of \u00a31mn. \u201cThe financial impact will be significant but I think the ripple effect will be awesome,\u201d he says. \u201cThe immediacy of online media and the way the album can be reshared is an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The original <em>Help<\/em> set a benchmark for musical quality in charity compilations. Participants were encouraged to bring their best work to the day-long recording session, not some B-side reject. Radiohead\u2019s \u201cLucky\u201d appeared on the album, two years before resurfacing on <em>OK Computer<\/em>. This was the start of the heyday of the charity compilation album. The format\u2019s peak years were between the early 1990s and the mid-2010s, since when there has been a decline. The economics of streaming is one reason. Another is enhanced sensitivity about the complications of mixing charity and showbiz.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"cvlgafwh\" class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3A798931a0-1d70-4242-ab32-7af128ffdfd2?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3A798931a0-1d70-4242-ab32-7af128ffdfd2?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3A798931a0-1d70-4242-ab32-7af128ffdfd2?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3A798931a0-1d70-4242-ab32-7af128ffdfd2?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=4 4x\" width=\"2896\" height=\"3621\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F798931a0-1d70-4242-ab32-7af128ffdfd2.jpg?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1\" alt=\"A black-and-white photo of four members of Arctic Monkeys pose in a recording studio, with two seated in front and two standing behind.\" data-image-type=\"image\" width=\"2896\" height=\"3621\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>The Arctic Monkeys, one of the \u2018old guard\u2019 of acts on the new album<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Phoebe Fox<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a shame that it\u2019s like a lost art form,\u201d says Aurora Nishevci of The Last Dinner Party. \u201cI guess it comes from the insecurity of feeling that it\u2019s performative activism. But it\u2019s good that people do question that, to make sure the money is going to the right places.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The keyboardist\u2019s parents are from Kosovo: they were living there during the Bosnian war when the first <em>Help<\/em> came out. \u201cSo for me doing this album means a lot,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Her band\u2019s song is \u201cLet\u2019s Do It Again!\u201d, an exuberantly ornate, arms-flung-wide number inspired, according to singer Abigail Morris, by the persona projected by Leonard Cohen in his album <em>Death of a Ladies\u2019 Man<\/em> \u2014 \u201ca cabaret performer who is slightly past their prime and desperately in love with someone.\u201d Her rationale for doing the project could apply as much to 1995 as 2026.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"yxogvazg\" class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3A00f9736e-72ac-443c-8d9a-a2cb3ef5bf9a?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/ftcms%3A00f9736e-72ac-443c-8d9a-a2cb3ef5bf9a?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x\" width=\"1619\" height=\"2159\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F00f9736e-72ac-443c-8d9a-a2cb3ef5bf9a.jpg?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1\" alt=\"Five members of The Last Dinner Party sit together against a tiled wall, all wearing vintage-inspired outfits and looking toward the camera.\" data-image-type=\"image\" width=\"1619\" height=\"2159\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>The Last Dinner Party join veteran acts on the \u2018Help(2) album<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Nora Nishevci<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re musicians and this is what we love to do,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we can help with something further from what we do every day, then we will do that. And if we\u2019re able to do that with the skills that we have, which is songwriting and performing, then we\u2019ll make it as entertaining as possible, so that it can be part of something that goes towards the greater good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Help(2)\u2019 is released by War Child<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Find out about our latest stories first \u2014<\/em> <em>follow FT Weekend on<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ft_weekend\/\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\"><em> Instagram<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/ftweekend.com\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\"><em>Bluesky<\/em><\/a><em> and<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ftweekend\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\"><em> X<\/em><\/a><em>, and <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/ep.ft.com\/newsletters\/subscribe?newsletterIds=56d42625a2b6c30300fd5748\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\"><em>sign up<\/em><\/a><em> to receive the FT Weekend newsletter every Saturday morning<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/7dcec7b3-6e3e-4999-81d1-0bf80bf25ea7\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}