Fontaines DC and the Sinéad O'Connor cover: "An experience capable of giving meaning to life"

“A unique experience, one capable of giving meaning to life.” That's how Fontaines Dc described recording a cover of Sinéad O’Connor for the new charity album “HELP(2)”. The record, out March 6th in support of War Child, will see the Dublin band reinterpret in the studio “Black Boys On Mopeds”, the protest song O’Connor released in 1990. The group had already performed an acoustic version of the track in Nashville back in October 2022, but this marks its first official recording.

Announcing their involvement in the project on social media, Fontaines D.C. explained: “We recorded a cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Black Boys On Mopeds’, which will be included on the collaborative album ‘HELP(2)’, out March 6, 2026. It was a real privilege to be invited by producer James Ford to contribute to this record”. The band added: “The time spent in the studio was a unique and deeply vital experience. Carlos O’Connell couldn’t be with us because of the birth of his son. Today more than ever it’s crucial to support the work of War Child”.

“HELP(2)” opens with “Opening Night”, the new single from Arctic Monkeys, and features a tracklist packed with big names: among others, Depeche Mode, Pulp, Beth Gibbons, Beck, Sampha, Big Thief, Wet Leg, King Krule, Foals, Arlo Parks and The Last Dinner Party. Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten also appears on the collaborative track “Flags” alongside Damon Albarn and Kae Tempest. James Ford has revealed that some artists turned down the chance to take part in “HELP(2)” because they considered it “too political”. The project, inspired by the celebrated 1995 charity album “HELP”, was recorded in close collaboration with Abbey Road Studios, with most of the sessions concentrated into a single week in November 2025.

“Black Boys On Mopeds” was written as a reaction to the death of Colin Roach, a 21-year-old British man of Jamaican descent who died in 1983, and stands as an indictment of police brutality. Without naming him outright, the lyrics take aim at the political climate of the era, with a direct reference to the Thatcher government, and the song appears on Sinéad O’Connor’s second album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got”. Over the years the track has also been covered by Phoebe Bridgers and Sharon Van Etten.

The bond between music and civic commitment runs through the Irish artist's entire career: in 2020 O’Connor released a cover of “Trouble Of The World” in support of Black Lives Matter organizations. As The Nation noted, she was “one of the movement's earliest and most steadfast supporters”.

It's no coincidence that the theme of birth also resurfaces in Fontaines D.C.'s recent output. The band had told NME that their 2025 single “It's Amazing To Be Young” originated precisely around the birth of O’Connell's daughter: “It started out next to Carlos's newborn and it's a message for her. Sometimes we're cynical, the world pushes you to be. But the birth of a child brings a pure beauty and hope that's impossible to argue with”.

Meanwhile, Fontaines D.C. are looking to the future: in summer 2026 they'll headline Reading & Leeds Festival for the first time and will also top the bill at Electric Picnic in Ireland. O’Connell has confirmed that the band are working on new material and haven't ruled out testing unreleased songs live, as they did in their early days. As for the band's image and aesthetic, the guitarist left the question open: “‘Romance’ was all-consuming, not just music but identity. Now we need to figure out whether to keep going down that road or reinvent ourselves. Personally, I'd like to get back to something closer to ‘Dogrel’, but we'll see: anything could really happen”.

Championed by Brian Eno, the original “HELP” became one of the most iconic and celebrated charity albums in the history of contemporary music. The compilation featured major artists such as Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Portishead, Sinéad O’Connor, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and many others, giving rise to a project that combined creative urgency with civic commitment.

The record's genesis has become the stuff of legend. Every track was recorded in the space of a single day, Monday September 4, 1995, mixed the following day, and released in record time on Saturday September 9. The idea of compressing the entire process into 24 hours drew on an insight from John Lennon, who, speaking about his 1970 single “Instant Karma”, argued that records should work like newspapers: tools capable of reacting to reality as it happens.

The response was immediate. “HELP” sold over 70,000 copies on its first day, topped the UK compilation albums chart, and would have reached number one on the general albums chart too, had the rules allowed it. Following its release, the project was honoured with a specially created BRIT Award, collected by Thom Yorke, as well as a Q Award that confirmed its cultural impact. In 1996 it was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, which was won by Different Class by Pulp — who nonetheless chose to donate the entire cash prize to War Child, further cementing the bond between that musical moment and the humanitarian cause.

Here's the official tracklist of the follow-up, “HELP(2)”.

01. Arctic Monkeys – “Opening Night”

02. Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest – “Flags”

03. Black Country, New Road – “Strangers”

04. The Last Dinner Party – “Let’s Do It Again!”

05. Beth Gibbons – “Sunday Morning”

06. Arooj Aftab & Beck – “Lilac Wine”

07. King Krule – “The 343 Loop”

08. Depeche Mode – “Universal Soldier”

09. Ezra Collective & Greentea Peng – “Helicopters”

10. Arlo Parks – “Nothing I Could Hide”

11. English Teacher & Graham Coxon – “Parasite”

12. Beabadoobee – “Say Yes”

13. Big Thief – “Relive, Redie”

14. Fontaines D.C. – "Black Boys On Mopeds"

15. Cameron Winter – “Warning”

16. Young Fathers – “Don’t Fight The Young”

17. Pulp – “Begging For Change”

18. Sampha – "Naboo"

19. Wet Leg – "Obvious"

20. Foals – “When The War Is Finally Done”

21. Bat For Lashes – "Carried My Girl"

22. Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya & Dove Ellis – "Sunday Light"

23. Olivia Rodrigo – “The Book Of Love”

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