The album includes songs by British contemporary new wave artists such as Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, Eurythmics, Howard Jones, Madness and Heaven 17, and others by rock or pop artists including Peter Gabriel, George Harrison, Kate Bush, Queen and the Pretenders.

[1] The album was released in North America by A&M Records on 19 August 1985,[2] over a month after the sinking of Greenpeace's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior.

[3] According to Greenpeace activist Tom Campbell, the UK project was conceived as a relatively minor undertaking, but "the thing snowballed, with more and more acts volunteering songs for the record.

[1] An exception was "Push and Shove" by Hazel O'Connor and Chris Thompson,[3] which was recorded for the compilation and produced by Haydn Bendall,[5] who also oversaw technical coordination for the album.

[6] Also exclusive to the 1985 release, George Harrison remixed his 1981 track "Save the World" and recorded a new vocal with the lyrics tailored more to Greenpeace's cause.