New Model Army

New Model Army

New Model Army is a Bradford, United Kingdom-based group formed in 1980. It begins as a three-piece around lead singer and main songwriter Justin Sullivan, with Stuart Morrow and Phil Tompkins as the founding line-up. The group takes its name from Oliver Cromwell’s anti-royalist military force.

Early years and first releases

The band plays its first gig in Bradford in October 1980. After Phil Tompkins leaves, Rob Waddington takes over on drums, and later Robert Heaton joins after working as a drum tech and occasional drummer for Hawkwind. New Model Army builds a local following with music shaped by punk rock, northern soul and a stripped-down approach centred on Sullivan’s writing and Morrow’s lead bass. Early independent releases include the singles Bittersweet and Great Expectations, both played by John Peel, followed by the mini-album Vengeance, which reaches the top of the Independent Charts. The EP The Price includes 1984, a song directly about the miners’ strike.

Major-label years and expanding line-up

In the mid-1980s the group signs to EMI on a deal of complete artistic control. No Rest for the Wicked and the single No Rest reach the UK top 40. Stuart Morrow leaves during the No Rest tour and is replaced by Jason “Moose” Harris. In 1985 the band also signs to Capitol Records in North America, though it is refused visas and cannot tour there at the time. The album The Ghost of Cain, produced by Glyn Johns, is well received. Around this period the group works with poet and performer Joolz Denby, a former manager who remains responsible for the band’s artwork, on the album Hex. Denby also collaborates with Justin Sullivan, Robert Heaton and others in Red Sky Coven, a project that continues to tour occasionally.

Folk elements, political themes and changing membership

Thunder and Consolation appears in 1989 and combines rock, folk and soul influences with Sullivan’s lyrics on spirituality, politics and family relationships. Touring members around this time include Ed Alleyne-Johnson on electric violin and keyboards. The follow-up, Impurity, is partly self-produced and becomes more eclectic. On the later The Love of Hopeless Causes, the band moves back towards guitar-led rock. Adrian Portas joins on second guitar, and later Dave Blomberg replaces him. Raw Melody Men appears as a live album and is the last release for EMI.

Independent control and later albums

New Model Army then signs to Epic before setting up its own structure around the internet era, including the label Attack Attack. The live double album New Model Army and Nobody Else is followed by Eight, a stripped-down album recorded largely by Sullivan, Michael Dean and Dean White. Lost Songs gathers unfinished material, and Sullivan’s solo album Navigating By The Stars, made with Ty Unwin, appears in 2003. A live album, Tales of the Road, documents stripped-down versions of the band’s material.

2000s and 2010s activity

Carnival includes Fireworks Night, written after the death of Robert Heaton. For the tour, Marshall Gill replaces Blomberg on guitar. High follows, with Chris Kimsey producing, and the live release Fuck Texas, Sing For Us documents that era. The band records Today Is a Good Day in Bradford, again with Kimsey, after the 2008 financial crash, and later releases Between Dog and Wolf, mixed by Joe Barresi in Los Angeles. That album is accompanied by a magazine and flexi-disc issue. Around this later period, Nelson leaves after many years in the band and is replaced by Ceri Monger, a multi-instrumentalist from Essex.

Style and collaborations

New Model Army is associated with post-punk, alternative rock, punk, rock and folk rock, with the broader tag of 1980s punk and goth rock. Its sound develops from a harsh early punk influence into a broader mix that includes folk, soul, acoustic performance and electric violin. Over the years the group works with or features musicians including Ricky Warwick, Mark Feltham, Ed Alleyne-Johnson, Joolz Denby, Rev Hammer, Brett Selby, Chris McLaughlin, Ty Unwin, Joe Barresi, Chris Tsangarides and Nat Chan. The line-up also includes, at different times, Phil Tompkins, Rob Waddington, Stuart Morrow, Justin Sullivan, Robert Heaton, Moose Harris, Adrian Portas, Nelson, Dave Blomberg, Dean White, Michael Dean, Marshall Gill, Ceri Monger and Ricky Warwick.