[1] Pulp guitarist Russell Senior left the band prior to the single's release, citing his dislike for the song as a reason for his departure.

[4] Pulp drummer Nick Banks said of the reaction to the single, "I think the general feeling from the critics was kind of 'It's good, but, ooh, it's not "Disco 2000" is it?'

Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "And rest assured that gloriously happy is precisely the emotion you'll be experiencing by the close of this richly textured, deliciously introspective rock ballad.

Jarvis Cocker is at his vocally ravaged best here, swimming through an arrangement that gradually builds from a quiet piano/guitar opening into a collision course of clanging guitars, layered harmonies, and pounding beats.

"[6] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song "deftly leaps from an after-hours fragility to arena roar,"[7] while Steve Hochman of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "In 'Help the Aged,' sentiments that might sound cynical from someone else ('One time they were just like you, drinking, smoking cigs and sniffing glue') are full of compassion and the simple knowledge that we all get older.

"[8] Rolling Stone's Greg Kot wrote that, in the song, "Pulp reach out to the inevitable with a mixture of resignation, compassion and humor, and package it all in a mirror ball of florid strings, helium-enriched vocal harmonies and shimmering guitars.

"[9] Nick Hornby of Spin Magazine stated, "By the climax ... the song is breaking your heart in ways you couldn't have anticipated.

"[10] "Help the Aged" was accompanied upon release by a music video produced by Hammer & Tongs filmed in the Stoke Newington Town Hall.