"Help the Aged" is a song by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Pulp

Pulp (band)

Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

, and was released on 10 November 1997 as the lead single from their 1998 album This Is Hardcore

This Is Hardcore

This Is Hardcore is the sixth album by English band Pulp, first released in March 1998. It came three years after their breakthrough album, Different Class, and was eagerly anticipated. As with the previous album it reached number one in the charts, and was well received critically, earning Pulp a...

. The single charted at #8 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 (see 1997 in British music

1997 in British music

This is a summary of 1997 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.-Summary:Oasis released their highly anticipated 3rd album, Be Here Now, on the 21st August . It sold 695,761 copies in its first three days to become the fastest selling album in UK history...

), becoming the band's fifth consecutive top ten single.

B-side "Tomorrow Never Lies" was intended to be used as the theme to the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 film Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...

. The song was ultimately rejected in favour of a song

Tomorrow Never Dies (song)

Entertainment Weekly music critic Jim Farber negatively reviewed the song, explaining "While Crow's music has the right swank and swing, her brittle voice lacks the operatic quality of the best Bond girls and boys, like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, or even Melissa Manchester...

 by Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...

, and was renamed after the film's working title. The original version of the song, with the name "Tomorrow Never Dies," finally surfaced on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore

This Is Hardcore

This Is Hardcore is the sixth album by English band Pulp, first released in March 1998. It came three years after their breakthrough album, Different Class, and was eagerly anticipated. As with the previous album it reached number one in the charts, and was well received critically, earning Pulp a...

special edition in 2006.

During Da Ali G Show

Da Ali G Show

Da Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....

, Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...

 performed the song—which soon however transitioned into a distinctly more urban

Mainstream Urban

Mainstream Urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an Urban Contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic...

 take on things, added by Ali G

Ali G

Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...

, with lines such as, "Help the motherfuckin' aged".

The song's video features a young Kelly Brook

Kelly Brook

Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...

(then aged 17); she is briefly seen on at least two occasions partaking in a slow dance.

Track listing

CD

1. "Help the Aged"
2. "Tomorrow Never Lies"
3. "Laughing Boy"

7" vinyl

1. "Help the Aged"
2. "Tomorrow Never Lies"