Damon Albarn, Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest team for “Flags” from ‘HELP(2)’ charity comp

HELP(2), the new charity compilation benefitting Warchild UK, is out March 2, and like the original Help, which came out in 1995, it features a cavalcade of cool artists who’ve recorded songs just for the occasion. In this case they were all recorded at Abbey Road over a single week with producer James Ford, and there are a lot of interesting collaborations, including the one shared today: “Flags,” which pairs Damon Albarn with Fontaines D.C.‘s Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest.

“Flags” feels like all three artists, with Damon Albarn’s Melancholy Hill balladry, Chatten’s delivery and Kae Tempest’s thoughtful wordplay all in there. The song also features contributions from Johnny Marr, Dave Okumu, Adrian Utley (Portishead), Gorillaz’ bassist Seye Adelekan, Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective), and a 43-piece children’s choir. You can listen to that and watch a clip of them recording at Abbey Road below.

“Recording ‘Flags’ was a genuinely joyful two days, with a strong sense of purpose throughout the building,” Albarn says. “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.”

“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,” Chatten adds. “Not to mention all of the incredible musicians who helped bring the song to life on the day. 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.”

Says Kae, “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. Me and Grian wrote our verses, responding to each other. We all worked together on Damon’s lyrics. Damon had the melody but kept the lyrics free so we could find them all together. It was a true collaboration. It’s a great album and I hope we can raise lots of funds and energy. For the children.”

Listen to “Flags” and watch a clip of them recording at Abbey Road below.

HELP2 also features Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo (covering The Magnetic Fields’ “The Book of Love”), Fontaines D.C. (covering Sinead O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds”), Cameron Winter, Pulp, Depeche Mode, Damon Albarn / Grian Chatten / Kae Tempest, Wet Leg, Black Country New Road, The Last Dinner Party, Arooj Aftab & Beck, English Teacher & Graham Coxon, King Krule, Bat For Lashes, Beth Gibbons, Ezra Collective & Greentea Peng, and more.