New Model Army
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New Model Army are an English post-punk/alternative rock band formed in Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1980 by its lead singer and main composer Justin Sullivan. Their name was taken form Oliver Cromwell's anti-royalist military force.

New Model Army played their first gig in Bradford on October 23rd 1980. Its founding members were Justin Sullivan, Stuart Morrow and Phil Tompkins. The threesome had already been together for a couple of years in a number of Bradford bands with other musicians and singers but in the Autumn of 1980, they decided to form a stripped-down three-piece, their music drawing on a wide collection of influences and fuelled by their passions for Punk Rock and Northern Soul. Within a few months drummer Phil Tomkins had left to be replaced by Rob Waddington. The band slowly built up a local following and created a unique style based on Justin's song-writing and Stuart's virtuosity on lead-bass.

In Summer 1982, whispers about this band reached London and they were invited to perform at a couple of showcases. But in a scene hungry for "the next big thing" (the coming "New Romantics"), NMA's fearsome music and northern style did not win over the Major Record Companies and they returned to Bradford empty-handed. Rob Waddington left to be replaced by Robert Heaton, who had been working as a drum tech and occasional drummer for the band ‘Hawkwind‘. Undeterred by the indifference of the Music Business, NMA began to perform more and more around the country and frequently featured as opening act on a series of all-day concerts at the London Lyceum which heralded many of the "Post-Punk" bands. Although this meant traveling for several hours to play a twenty-five minute set for no money, the band embraced the opportunity and their reputation as a live act grew. A first small-label independent single "Bittersweet" was released in the summer of 1983, followed by "Great Expectations" on Abstract Records that autumn, both played frequently on late night radio by John Peel. Suddenly the band had a "Following", people who would travel to every concert around the country to see them.