After what seems like an interminable winter, summer finally seems to have arrived in glorious sunshine, heralded somewhat weirdly by the Northern Lights appearing across London the previous night. If that isn’t a sign of the north marching south, I don’t know what is, so what could be better than New Model Army live at the Roundhouse?
New Model Army
11 posts
So while I felt a little trepidation in the news that they would be performing with Sinfonia Leipzig, in New Model Army's case I was prepared to make an exception- firstly, the sheer quality of their recent material doesn't suggest that this is a band in any real danger of running out of ideas any time soon, and secondly they've never really given that much of a shit about having to validate what they do do anyone.
London 14 November 2019 It’s weird being at the Electric Ballroom. Not that it’s a particularly weird venue in and of itself; I mean, it’s actually a good one. No, what’s weird about being at the Electric Ballroom is that we’re here to see New Model Army. In November. .
Ear Music If you’ve ever read David Zindell‘s Neverness books, you will know there is nothing more badass than a warrior-poet. For nearly four decades now, New Model Army have been some of the hardest-working warrior-poets in the business, touring the world to their legions of fans (the NMA Family) and still somehow managing to find time to bang out album after album of finely-crafted rock music.
London 11 December 2015 “And you could be there…” Zoom in. You’re down the front at The Forum. New Model Army are playing up a storm, and Justin Sullivan has put you right in the head of a religious extremist. They started with the never-more-appropriate-than-right-now-when-we’ve-just-started-bombing-in-Syria “Bloodsports”, a song which in itself encapsulates
The Jazz Café, London 30 May 2015 A couple of years ago I had the very great pleasure of interviewing New Model Army‘s angry yet affable front man Justin Sullivan for this esteemed organ (matron!), and we got to talking about venue sizes. “All of us”, said he, “when we go to see our favourite bands, we want to see them in the old Marquee, or in some […]
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire 17-19 May 2013 Bearded Theory is, pretty much by definition, a party that got out of hand. It started out as a birthday bash, and is now in its sixth year as a music festival. Somewhere in among this tangled web of history is an obsession with beards, and on the Sunday they have an attempt at the world record for the most fake beards […]
OK, so I’m interviewing Justin Sullivan of New Model Army and I’m shitting myself; one of the finest living British songwriters, veteran of a 30-plus-years of playing kick-ass protest rock’n’roll, a man who’s played more good gigs than I’ve had bad ideas… no, this won’t be awkward at all. But I’d be a dumbass to pass up the opportunity – and I’ve seen interviews where he’s been very […]
Attack Attack 1979. A young snot-nosed punk steps up to a microphone, shouts “GO!” and a national treasure is born. The punk is Justin Sullivan, New Model Army the national treasure, and the “GO!” the unleashing of the hounds which heralds “Christian Militia,” the opening track on their classic mini-album Vengeance. 2013, and Vengeance is back (has been since the end of 2012, in fact) and it’s now […]
The Forum, London 17 December 2009 ‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the Forum, not a creature was stirring apart from that seething, thronging mass of goths, punks, crusties and beardy CAMRA-men that only New Model Army seem to be able to unite into one celebratory whole. And they’ve been doing it for a while now. Next year sees their thirtieth anniversary tour… this year makes […]
Label: Attack Attack Format: CD There’s something a little disorienting about this CD right from the off — it uses a different font. Yup, that’s right, gone is the stencilled military-style lettering they’ve been using for… blimey, for about TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS! (Doing a quick bit of mental arithmetic I’ve just frightened myself with the realisation that my first New Model Army gig was some eighteen years ago. I’ll get me slippers). […]