Chart entered : 27 April 1985
Chart peak : 28
Number of hits : 14
Few bands featuring here merit the description "cult act " better, with none of their hits showing the remotest sign of crossing over in any meaningful way.
New Model Army were formed in Bradford in the autumn of 1980 by 24-year old Justin Sullivan, a singer-songwriter with a Quaker background and interest in history with bassist Stuart Morrow and a drummer called Tompkins who was soon replaced by a guy called Waddington. They were named after Cromwell's troops in the English Civil War and Justin adopted the stage name Slade The Leveller in reference to the most radical sect operating at that time. It took a while for them to get a record out by which time their drummer was Rob Heaton who had been acting as drum roadie for a number of bands most notably space rockers Hawkwind.
Their first single "Bittersweet " was released on the Quiet label in March 1983 showcasing a dry metallic postpunk sound with The Cure the most obvious influence. Justin's lyrics evince a similar sense of disquiet. It's quite listenable but Bradford being quite distant from the normal centres of musical activity it didn't get heard.
Still it made enough waves for them to move on to a bigger indie label, Abstract, who released their second single "Great Expectations " in November 1983. Built around Stuart's steely bass line the song has energy and propulsion but does show Justin's limitations as a singer and lyricist. There's an obvious eagerness to get his message across but often the lines are declaimed theatrically in Rex Harrison style rather than sung and some of the lyrics are unpolished to say the least. The song works up a head of steam about materialism but when the chorus has lines like "Well that's not much to ask, it's really not, not much to ask, just the same as anybody else they sound like a sixth form band rather than The Jam.
Nevertheless Peelie got behind them and after appearing on The Tube in January 1984 they started making waves in the independent charts. Their debut album "Vengeance" was released in April 1984. The half hour LP is full of shouty passion and political commitment about right wing evangelism ( "Christian Militia " ) Nazi war criminals and drug pushers ( "Vengeance" ) and the Falklands conflict ( " Spirit of the Falklands " ) but no real tunes ( "Notice Me " is as melodic as it gets ). "Sex ( The Black Angel ) " is an absolute stinker and should never have been committed to vinyl. Nevertheless the album topped the indie charts.
A standalone single "The Price" followed in October . A pounding song with a relentless bass line but vague lyric about a troubled drive, it pleased their indie audience with its Bauhaus/ Comsat Angels indie rock sound but musically didn't move them forward. Their steady sales however convinced EMI that they were worth a punt.
"No Rest" was their first release for EMI who helped it into the charts with a free single containing some bootlegged tracks which the band saw as some great conceptual joke. A grinding tale of religious confusion with Stuart's bass again the lead instrument, it has the semblance of a hook in the chorus though you wouldn't really say it was tuneful. Some of Justin's ranting in the verses puts you in mind of Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman. It's sort of interesting as you never quite know where it's going; the quiet interlude with Stuart plucking out dolorous notes is a real surprise. They were allowed to play it live on Top of the Pops though Justin and Rob had to tape over the word "Bastards " ( as in "Only Stupid B...s Use Heroin" ) on their T-shirts.
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