Pulp are one of over 30 artists contributing to Help (2), a fundraiser for the charity War Child which is sadly as necessary now as its predecessor was in 1995.
Whilst several of the 23 tracks are cover versions, Pulp has provided a new song, Begging For Change, which is four minutes of urgent, staccato guitar and crashing strings and drums, with Jarvis Cocker at times entering a call-and-response with himself. Absolutely fantastic.
Listen carefully at the beginning and you may also hear Damon Albarn, Carl Barat, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest. According to BBC News, Jarvis got back from a bathroom break to find them all in his studio, so he got them to sing the intro. "They just turned up, so I thought, 'Why not?'"
The quartet have recorded their own song, Flags, which you can preview along with songs by Arctic Monkeys and The Last Dinner Party.
Help (2) is available to pre-order or pre-save (whatever the latter means) from the usual places, including double shiny disc or vinyl.
