Everything about New Model Army Band totally explained
New Model Army are an
English rock band. They are widely known for their unwavering commitment to their original vision of music and performance and voicing political views in their lyrics. Therefore they're often labelled as a
punk band. Besides punk, they've also been classified as
post-punk,
folk rock,
indie rock,
gothic rock, rock noir and even
metal amongst others.
Overview
New Model Army's earliest material on their debut album
Vengeance - The Independent Story (1984) could probably with some justification be regarded as modern
punk, albeit more
melodic than the works of many of their
classic counterparts.
Through the years, however, New Model Army have experimented with a great number of musical styles and nurtured numerous different inspirations. As a rock band they generally stand out of the crowd having a greater emphasis on the
rhythm section, which often contains
references to
R&B. Their music is often regarded as intense, angry, and powerful, some might even say
militant. However their
repertoire is much wider and more subtle than that and also includes quieter, more emotive and softer material often performed
acoustically. Thus it would be inaccurate to simply classify them as any of these genres. Rather one should recognise them for what they really are: a very underground cult rock band with many different musical roots. They have toured and recorded constantly for over 26 years and continue to do so and are considered a seminal influence by many contemporary younger rock bands.
Their lyrics are always very
poetic, but still manage to express political and
humanitarian messages. Songs like "
51st State" (actually written by 'The Shakes') earned the band
cult status in movements against
American imperialism, but made it more difficult for the band to tour the US. The contradiction and search for deeper truths explored in New Model Army's lyrics stem from lyricist Justin Sullivan's deeply religious (
Quaker) and literary upbringing.
Lyrically Justin Sullivan has had a very close relationship with
British artist,
novelist, and
poet Joolz Denby, who is often credited as a consultant or Muse and sometimes even co-writer. She is also responsible for the characteristic
artwork on their
covers,
merchandise,
t-shirts etc. The Arts Council/Yorkshire Museums & Galleries international touring exhibition of Denby's artworks for NMA and their memorabilia is entitled with some accuracy 'One Family, One Tribe - The art & Artefacts Of New Model Army', and is unique in its presentation of the art of a working rock band.
As a
music group, New Model Army also stand out because they tend to see themselves as an
organisation rather than a
business as the name of their homepage,
www.newmodelarmy.org
, signifies.
Biography
The band was named after the
English revolutionary army of
Oliver Cromwell. Led by
guitarist /
vocalist,
Justin Sullivan (who performed briefly under the name 'Slade The Leveller' in the early
1980s), the group has an extremely loyal, global, multi-generational cult following called The Family. The band has also collaborated with
electric violinist
Ed Alleyne-Johnson, who worked with them on their
Top 40 single "Vagabonds", and their albums
Thunder & Consolation (1989) and
Impurity (1990), as well as touring extensively with them for five years. New Model Army frequently tour with more than five band members.
The group also tours as 'Justin Sullivan and Friends', which means a more acoustic set without some players (which ones varies), and is linked to
Red Sky Coven, in which Justin Sullivan also plays. In early
2003, Sullivan released
Navigating By The Stars, a solo
album recorded with other band members and featuring Michael Dean on
drums, Dean White on
guitar and
keyboards,
Danny Thompson on
double bass, and
Mark Feltham on
harmonica.
After a short tour at the end of
2004, the group returned to the
studio to record their ninth studio album,
Carnival (2005).
EMI has released four
remastered earlier albums. As the band themselves say: "Although there's nothing new within the packages they've been very sympathetically re-packed and remastered and do sound very, very good."
The next studio album,
High, was released in the UK on
20 August 2007, and in North America on
4 September 2007. On
5 September 2007, their North American tour in support of
High was canceled when they were denied visas by the
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
In
2004 their one-time drummer and founding member,
Robert Heaton, died of
pancreatic cancer.
One of their other members,
Ricky Warwick went on to form
The Almighty.
Main Contributors
- Justin Sullivan - Vocalist - born on 8 April, 1956, in Jordans, Buckinghamshire, England
- Robert Heaton - Drummer - born Robert Charles Heaton, on 6 July, 1961, in Knutsford, Cheshire; died of pancreatic cancer, on 4 November, 2004.
Discography
Studio albums
Vengeance - The Independent Story (1984)
No Rest for the Wicked (1985)
The Ghost of Cain (1986)
Thunder and Consolation (1989)
Impurity (1990)
The Love of Hopeless Causes (1993)
Strange Brotherhood (1998)
Eight (2000)
Carnival (2005)
High (2007)Further Information
Get more info on 'New Model Army Band'.
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