Of all the venues that New Model Army have played over the last four decades, a 300-million-year-old cave in the Peak District must surely be the oldest. Peak Cavern, better known by its enduring nickname, The Devil’s Arse, is an unconventional setting for a rock concert. Yet it felt entirely fitting that a band so rooted in history, collective identity, landscape and storytelling should take over this unusual space for two nights.
Despite it officially being the first days of autumn, the trees and pastures around the small town of Castletown were still a lush green. With clear blue skies and a warm sun, the scene was set for something special. New Model Army arrived with two completely different setlists and transformed the cavern into their own world for a memorable weekend.
The venue itself of course added to the atmosphere. Damp, cold and slightly foreboding. The uneven ground rises naturally towards the modest stage, sheltered beneath a gazebo from the steady drip of water falling from the cave roof. It felt intimate and elemental at the same time, with audience and band gathered inside a natural cathedral carved out over millennia.
Friday night opened in a wash of red and orange light as Justin Sullivan stepped onto the stage alone and launched into ‘Better Than Them’. “This is our cave, this is Friday night,” he sang, immediately claiming the space as New Model Army territory. The rest of the band joined one by one as the set unfolded.
There was some curiosity about whether the songs would be tailored to the acoustics of the cavern, but the band quickly put that question aside by leaning into what they do best: intensity, conviction and raw energy. Sullivan reflected on the challenge of choosing songs from a catalogue of more than 250 tracks, joking that despite countless references to seas, skies and mountains, not one song mentions a cave.
Sullivan considered on how older songs have found new relevance over time, introducing ‘51st State’ and later ‘Purity’ with observations on how their themes continue to resonate. He reflected on turning 70, and on sharing a bill with an 80-year-old Patti Smith earlier this year. Seemingly inspired by her enduring energy, he performed ‘Before I Get Old’ with a similar dogged sense of determination to keep striving to experience life to all its fullness despite his age.
If Friday felt like a band settling into the unique surroundings of the venue, Saturday delivered an even greater sense of occasion and communion between the band and the audience.
Sullivan and Dean White opened with ‘I Am Where I Am’ and the perfectly apt ‘Autumn’. After a brief restart of ‘Snelsmore Wood’, Sullivan dryly wondered whether it was colder than the previous evening, noting that the merchandise stand had sold out of hoodies on Friday night.
Check out our exclusive footage of Saturday night below:
Four songs in and the rest of the band arrived on stage for ‘Christian Militia’ immediately lifting the intensity. New Model Army have always been renowned for the connection between band and audience. Fans sang every word back with fiery passion, some balanced on shoulders, while the band responded with a commitment that left nothing in reserve. Drummer Michael Dean, barely let up, driving the performance forward all evening. The rhythm section has always been central to the New Model Army sound, and by the end Dean looked as if he’d given just about everything.
Highlights came thick and fast. ‘Liberal Education’ was introduced as a young person's song now viewed from the other side of life. ‘Vagabonds’ united the audience in a big singalong. ‘1984’, introduced with reflections on Derbyshire's history and folklore, felt particularly poignant, while ‘No Rest’ arrived with all the passion and urgency it has ever carried.
The cave itself inspired part of the set. Sullivan explained that the band had considered what might sound right in such surroundings. ‘Living in the Rose’ was one answer, and ‘Idumea’ felt particularly fitting, accompanied by reflections on humanity's age-old instinct to gather together and sing around the fire. ‘Fate’, introduced as “another song about God”, as Sullivan mused that there has to be more to the world than we think we know. Gathered beneath the ancient limestone walls, singing as one in a collective spirit, and it was easy to relate to that notion.
The momentum carried the band to an early finish, closing the main set with ‘225’, its themes sounding every bit as relevant today as when it was written. After a brief break, they returned for an encore. First a “special request” from Michael Dean, they restarted with The Rolling Stones' ‘The Last Time’, before breaking straight into ‘Coming and Going’. The night ended with ‘I Love the Word’ which Sullivan dedicated to everyone who had made the trip to The Devil’s Arse, including too the ghosts who across millennia had one time called the cave home.
As the band left the stage, they looked exhausted, but in the very best sense. No one could have asked them to give any more. Yet again, one of Britain's most fiercely independent bands created something unique: a weekend that felt ancient and alive, powerful and intimate, and one that nobody lucky enough to be there is likely to forget.
Oct 2nd Setlist Better Than Them Stranger Ballad of Bodmin Pill White Light Echo November Here Comes the War First Summer After Winter High Innocence 51st State Devil's Bargain Angry Planet Summer Moors Do You Really Want to Go There? Stormclouds Before I Get Old The Hunt Purity Wonderful Way to Go
Encore: Green and Grey
Oct 3rd Setlist Where I Am Autumn Snelsmore Wood Christian Militia Frightened March in September Guessing A Liberal Education Red Earth Get Me Out Vagabonds 1984 Never Arriving No Rest Living in the Rose Idumea Fate Bittersweet 225
Encore: The Last Time (The Rolling Stones cover) Coming or Going I Love the World
Check out our exclusive interview with Justin Sullivan below:
