Born on 8 April: Justin Sullivan (New Model Army) still as combative...

He was born in 1956 and grew up in Bradford, England.

With his friends Robert Heaton, now deceased (drums), and Stuart Morrow (bass), the trio experienced their first adventures in the early 80s, already combining raw energy with an engaged discourse. For Justin, words hold as much power as the guitar he loves to push to its limits.

In his early days, he liked to call himself Slade The Leveller in reference to the political movement known as The Levellers during the English Civil War in the mid-17th century. Also highly committed, Mark Chadwick's band adopted this name in Brighton in 1988. Great engaged minds meet, indeed!

At times openly political, at times bathed in spirituality with occasionally pagan undertones, the lyrics finely crafted by Justin Sullivan matter at least as much as his deliberately unclassifiable music. He often amuses himself with this impossibility of being labelled. "We were initially called punk then quite logically post-unis," he laughs. "But also, somewhat randomly, goths, metal or even sometimes folk, but frankly, these categories are of no importance to me." While Justin needs to be surrounded by musicians who understand his approach, New Model Army remains first and foremost his personal project, with all others revolving around him without necessarily staying by his side for very long.

New Model Army's venture into a major record label (EMI in this case) during the 80s was certainly tumultuous but nonetheless allowed for the emergence of "The Ghost Of Cain" produced by Glyn Johns in 1986. It features a prophetic "51st State" which, without entirely foreseeing the expansionist dreams of Donald Trump, clearly mocked the "Yankees conquerors" (to quote Justin's words). Taking a more folk-rock direction, especially when Alleyne Johnson's violin comes to the rescue (notably on the superb "Vagabonds"), "Thunder And Consolation" (1989) is also among the group's best recordings.

After four decades of history and more than fifteen studio albums, Justin still approaches each of his concerts with the same enthusiasm. While today he addresses a cohort of convinced aficionados, The Family as they call themselves, the singer with the long grizzled mane still hopes to win over new followers. It's unknown if he can turn water into wine, but he undeniably has the look of a prophet. And a load of songs to match!

Some concerts:

Currently on tour in New Zealand and then in Australia, New Model Army will return to Europe in June.

2 May: Triffid - Brisbane (Australia)

7 May: Tuning Fork - Auckland (New Zealand)

10 May: Magnet House - Perth (Australia)

10 June: Muziekgieteruj - Maastricht (Netherlands)

24 June: OVO Arena - London (England with Billy Idol)

22 November: Reflektor - Liège (Belgium)

All other dates here: https://www.newmodelarmy.org/

Photo: Justin Sullivan with New Model Army on stage at the W-Festival in Waregem (Belgium) in August 2019