Ongoing History Daily: The musician who returned from the dead

Justin Sullivan is the leader of a criminally under-appreciated British band called New Model Army.  Despite long odds and much adversity, the band has been going since 1980.   But that almost came to an end in 1992 when he had a rather shocking experience. 

During a show in Switzerland, his hand ended up inside a stage where he came into contact with a live wire and was electrocuted.  In every technical sense, he died.  His heart stopped and he stopped breathing.  Justin says there were other signs:  drifting toward the white light, a sense of calm and all the rest of it.  They managed to revive Justin and he says the whole experience has stuck with him.  This is where he got the idea for the song “White Light” on New Model Army’s “The Love of Hopeless Causes” album. 

Justin was probably the first songwriter in the history of rock to return from the dead and write a song about it.