Behind the scenes as Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp and Arctic Monkeys record the charity album

Damon Albarn stands in the doorway of the Abbey Road canteen, deep in conversation with The Libertines’ Carl Barat.

Nearby, Pulp is lining up for a new batch of lasagne.

Around them, half a dozen children were running around, filming everything with handheld cameras.

They all eagerly await the arrival of Olivia Rodrigo.

These were the scenes in London last November, as some of the world’s biggest stars came together to record a new charity album in aid of Warchild.

The tracklist, revealed yesterday, reads like a who’s who of indie rock. Wet Leg, The Last Dinner Party, Wolf Alice, Fontaines DC, Nilüfer Yanya, Cameron Winter, Ezra Collective, Foals and Young Fathers all contributed.

Within a week, 23 tracks were recorded. At times, five of Abbey Road’s famous studios were used, with collaborations starting suddenly.

Blur’s Graham Coxon plays guitar with Rodrigo on the cover of The Magnetic Fields’ The Book Of Love. Damon Albarn’s session saw him joined by Johnny Marr on guitar, with additional vocals by Kae Tempest and Grian Chatten.

Later that day, Jarvis Cocker returns from a bathroom break to find them all in his studio – so he has them sing the intro to a new Pulp song, Begging For A Change.

“It just came, so I thought, ‘Why not?'” he laughed. “I’m not used to that kind of thing, but it’s really good.”

The album is the spiritual successor to 1995’s Help! – recorded at the height of Britpop, and features contributions from Paul Weller, Radiohead, Suede, Paul McCartney, The KLF, Portishead and The Manic Street Preachers.

It was also, famously, the only time Oasis and Blur appeared on the same record, just months after their legendary (and acrimonious) chart battle.

“We’ll put aside our differences for the cause,” said Noel Gallagher at that time. “And this is the only time you’ll ever see us agree on anything.”

The record sold 70,000 copies in its first week, raising nearly £1.25m to help children in war-torn areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2025, fund-raising will be more urgent. According to Warchild, 520 million children worldwide – almost one in five – have been affected by war, with simultaneous crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza.

The number is higher than at any time since World War II, at the same time that governments around the world are cutting international aid.

“Right now, it seems like there are a lot of bad things going on, and a lot of people feel powerless,” Cocker said.

“They’re watching the news and they don’t know what to do. So I hope this album is something that people can enjoy, and also know that they’re trying to make a positive change.”

The first single, released on Thursday, is a new Arctic Monkeys track called Opening Night.

A slight, sinister ballad, it finds Alex Turner singing about political sloganeering and “supercomputer crusades” before a beautifully harmonized chorus that offers a message of hope in dark times.

The song started a couple of years ago, drummer Matt Helders told the BBC, but was never finished.

Getting the call from Warchild was the impetus they needed to complete the song, with lyrics that felt like a call to arms.

“On charity records, it’s always tempting to do a cover, or an interesting collaboration,” he said, “but we enjoy making records and being in the studio, so it’s fun to work on something we’ve written.”

Adding to the fun is the film crew of children, mostly aged between eight and 10, who document the entire recording process.

They were corralled by Bafta-winning director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Under The Skin, The Zone Of Interest), who wanted to connect music back to the young people it could help.

“They were given free reign to just roam around, which really changed the atmosphere,” Helders said.

“Studios can be a stiff, clinical environment, sometimes. But they’re walking around and bumping into things. It’s fun.”

Cocker wasn’t so sure.

“I hate anyone watching me sing in the studio, because I’m a self-conscious person and someone pointing a camera at me doesn’t help that,” he said.

“And while I was singing there, I think they got a little fed up, so they were just like lying on the floor and filming the ceiling.”

In the end, he found the presence of children liberating. Something about their general lack of interest allowed him to shed the idea that studio recording should capture the “perfect, definitive version” of a song.

As a result, Pulp’s contribution to Help 2 – Begging For Change – has a loose, live band feel that truly reflects the album’s spontaneity and sense of community.

In fact, the young camera crew even made the record.

“It’s an interesting thing, you know, because children are always told, ‘Shut up, because I’m trying to think’, or, ‘Shhh, your father is hungry’,” he said.

“So if they’re given a chance to make noise, they’ll do that. So what we’re trying to do with our song is make them scream, and they do it really well.”

You won’t hear that song until Help 2 is released on 6 March. Thanks to record labels and pressing plants donating their services free of charge, it’s cheaper than standard albums – with double vinyl costing around £26 – and Warchild receives all the profits.

“We found this project really lit a fire under the creative community,” said Rich Clarke, the charity’s head of music. “A lot of people want to be involved.”

He admitted that the album’s 23 tracks were not the only product of one week’s recording sessions.

“There was a whole load of tracks, about 10 or so, that came when people heard about the project. So really, there were some tough decisions for the team about what made it into the record.”

But Olivia Rodrigo’s song – about the purity of love – is always reserved as the closing track.

“It’s a beautiful cover,” Clarke said.

“The record takes you on a journey, with some powerful themes around conflict, but Olivia leaves you with a track about the redemptive power of love, which is a poignant final note”.