New Model Army are a legendary global underground cult band. Formed by Justin Sullivan in Bradford in 1980, their beginnings were inspired by Northern Soul, Punk Rock and the incendiary atmosphere of the times. Since then, they have had a long, creative and eventful journey. They have been massively influential in ‘post-punk’, ‘folk-rock’, ‘politico-rock’, ‘goth’, ‘metal’ and all kinds of musical sub-cultures but, like Groucho Marx, they have steadfastly refused to belong to any club that would have them as members.
Without a ‘genre’ audience, and never having had a Top 20 hit single in any country, New Model Army still have album sales in the millions, have attracted some of the biggest producers on the planet (Glyn Johns, Tom Dowd, Andy Wallace, Bob Clearmountain,) and have built up an almost religious devotion amongst fans. Having grasped early on that the Internet was going to revolutionize the way music is sold, from the mid-1990s they set out on the now-fashionable wholly independent path of controlling all aspects of their output. As a result, they have been perfectly placed to withstand the changes in the Industry and have outlasted most of their peers. There are very few older bands in NMA’s position of being able to record and release what they like when they like, maintaining and in recent years increasing a worldwide following without making a single compromise.
Last September saw the release their eleventh studio album entitled ‘Today Is A Good Day’. Mostly written in the wake of the Wall Street collapse (an event celebrated in the white-hot title track), the album has been hailed as one of their very best and the album tour began with a month in North America (where the band have an eventful history) and went on through 90 shows in 20 countries. This Autumn, after playing a number of Summer Festivals, the band are planning an ambitious series of two-night stands in cities across the World to celebrate their 30 th Anniversary with special releases and a TV documentary in the making.
Originally formed as a three piece, the current five piece features Michael Dean on drums, Nelson on bass, Dean White on keyboards and Marshall Gill on lead guitar in what Sullivan “the best NMA line-up since 1985”. This is a remarkable band – as hungry and focused as ever, with a continually regenerating audience and insatiable creative ambition.
Check out their website – New Model Army
