Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest have shared the captivating new song ‘Flags’, which they recorded for the forthcoming ‘HELP(2)’ album.
The track is the latest to be taken from War Child’s new charity compilation album ‘Help(2)‘, following on from the Arctic Monkeys’ single ‘Opening Night’, which marked their first new music since 2022.
The star-studded album is set for release on March 6, and will raise money and awareness for children whose lives have been affected by war and conflict. Visit here to pre-order.
Today (Thursday February 12), another preview of the album has been shared in the form of ‘Flags’. It sees Blur and Gorillaz icon Damon Albarn come together with Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten and British poet and artist Kae Tempest.
The song is driven by an upbeat, yet slightly melancholic piano melody, and opens with Albarn’s signature vocals. “Now you left yourself there on the wall/ Looking up, painted on teeth, powdered concrete/ Here on earth, the sun in the sky, between my teeth/ Looking down, shaking some hand, older than mine,” he sings, before Chatten takes over vocal duties.
“The sun cries tears/ And they land inside ya/ You feel the fear where you once felt pride.”
Produced by Albarn, James Ford, Marta Salogni and Toby L, the song also features contributions from Johnny Marr, Dave Okumu, Adrian Utley (Portishead), Gorillaz’ bassist Seye Adelekan, and Ezra Collective’s Femi Koleoso, as well as a 43-piece children’s choir.
A second, all-star choir was also involved in adding additional vocal depth, and included Marr, Pulp’s Jarvis C*****, The Libertines’ Carl Barat, Declan McKenna, English Teacher, Black Country, New Road, Nadia Kadek, and more.
Filmmaker and Academy Award Winner Jonathan Glazer also worked with Academy Films for art direction for ‘HELP(2)’, handing the cameras over to children in order to see the world through their eyes. It includes footage of what they saw in the studios, as well as footage from those on the ground in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen and Sudan. You can check out a clip from the studio below.
“Recording ‘Flags’ was a genuinely joyful two days, with a strong sense of purpose throughout the building,” Albarn shared. “I was particularly struck by the decision to employ children to do all the filming in the studio – it felt inspiring and directly reinforced the point we were trying to make about communicating with kids, by involving them in the process itself.”
“I feel honoured to be a part of this project. I loved writing this song and collaborating with the other artists, it was like a fever dream that day at Abbey Road. Couldn’t believe how good it felt and the sheer force of will that shepherded all those energies together and directed them towards this beautiful conclusion,” Tempest added. “It was a true collaboration. It’s a great album and I hope we can raise lots of funds and energy. For the children.”
Grian Chatten also added that “to be gifted the chance to collaborate with such talented artists as Damon and Kae in aid of such an important cause was really special, and that “it’s a rare occasion that you feel the energy for change in such a tangible way and from so many, but that is exactly how it felt in the room that day.”
The new ‘HELP(2)’ record comes following the original ‘Help’ record for War Child, which was released in 1995 and featured Oasis, Blur, 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’.
The new 2026 album is produced and stewarded by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Florence + The Machine, Blur, Pet Shop Boys), and was recorded through “a close collaboration with Abbey Road Studios” mostly during one week in November 2025.
Other huge names featured on the album include Anna Calvi, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat For Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Portishead‘s Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Cameron Winter, Blur’s Graham Coxon, Depeche Mode, Dove Ellis, Wolf Alice‘s Ellie Rowsell, Foals, Greentea Peng, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, Young Fathers, and other members of Fontaines D.C..
As well as Chatten recording ‘Flags’ for the album, he and the rest of Fontaines have also created a cover of Sinead O’Connor’s 1990 protest song ‘Black Boys On Mopeds’ for the record, and described it as a “unique and life-affirming experience”.
In other news about ‘HELP(2)’, James Ford recently revealed that some artists refused to be involved in ‘HELP(2)’ as they thought it was “too political”.
The post Listen to the soulful new Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest collab ‘Flags’ from ‘Help(2)’ appeared first on NME.
