Mar 8: HELP(2)

This is the second release from War Child Records.

Help(2) (stylised in all caps) is a charity compilation album created by the organisation War Child in order to raise funds for their work involving helping children living through war. 

It was released on 6 March 2026 through War Child Records.

The album will accompany a documentary film directed by Jonathan Glazer.

The first one was the subject of some work from John Wilkinson and a GA Conference session which was one of the influences on the creation of the blog.

The stand out track for me is Depeche Mode's 'Universal Soldier'.

“Universal Soldier” is an anti-war protest song written by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, who is best known for the Academy Award-winning song “Up Where We Belong” from the film An Officer and a Gentleman. She wrote “Universal Soldier” in 1963 after encountering injured American troops returning home from the Vietnam War. The song has been previously covered many times, notably by Donovan, Glen Campbell, and First Aid Kit.

The album arrives the same week the United States and Israel launched a needless war against Iran, escalating tensions and sowing chaos across the Middle East.

Dave Gahan and Martin Gore have transformed this folk song into a dark, electrified menace. 

Their version bristles with rattling chains, chilling synth pads, and a heavy, deliberate beat, anchored by Gahan’s unmistakable voice. The band recorded the song at Abbey Road Studios in November 2025, which in itself feels notable. 

After the release of Memento Mori and the heartbreaking loss of founding member Andy Fletcher, it wasn’t entirely clear if Depeche Mode would continue recording new material.

The album ends with Olivia Rodrigo doing a cover of Stephin Merritt's 'The Book of Love' - also covered by Peter Gabriel on his 'Scratch my Back' album... a much better version in my opinion.

Jan 8: John Wilkinson's record collection

There are several teachers who I feel are always pushing creative boundaries and challenging themselves, often by adding a personal touch to their schemes of work. 

They're the teachers I continue to draw personal inspiration from. I've already mentioned Matt Podbury on the blog within the first week of the year and as we enter the second week, here's another: 

John Wilkinson 

John is the Head of Geography at St Edwards College, West Derby, Liverpool, and an Honorary Lecturer in the Geography Department at the University of Liverpool. 

John started his career tutoring at Lochranza Field Centre on the Isle of Arran. He is currently studying for a part time PhD at the University of Liverpool

The St Edwards College Geography department won The PTI’s Bernice McCabe Award in 2024. John regularly presents CPD for the Prince's Teaching Institute, and also at the GA Conference.

In Autumn of 2023, John contributed an excellent article on his vinyl revival scheme, and even made the front cover of the 'Teaching Geography' journal.

I saw him speak about this at a session at the GA Conference in Sheffield that year. It was great.

Subscribers can download the article from this link.

There are lots of geographical connections that John makes, starting with an album from 1995 to raise awareness of global issues.

This was the War Child Help Album.

It was noticeable that students weren’t entering the classroom to learn about geography, but embarking on a geographical learning journey: they developed as geographers through cultivating the power of popular music. The only non-negotiable is investing in a cache of vinyl records to supply authenticity, awe and wonder to the learning experience.