The band took their name from an episode of The Goon Show. The band were noted for an extremely unusual two bass player line up. Bass player Alex Griffin played melody lines high up on one bass, and Mat cheslin played the regular basslines on the other. This gave the band a tense and highly driven sub-hardcore sound with distorted indie guitars and complicated Baggy drum beats. The band were also noted for their extremely young ages. The band formed while at sixth form college, and recorded their first album while still teenagers. This led to a strong teenage fanbase with a reputation for enjoying stage diving and moshing at their gigs. The band were also noted (and sometimes ridiculed) for their early image which consisted of uniformly crimped hair, short trousers and t shirts. The Neds (as their fans referred to them) were well known for their T shirts and produced over 80 different designs within three years.
The band quickly gathered a strong fanbase after being noticed by local superstars The Wonder Stuff and offered a support slot on a UK tour. A top 50 hit Kill Your Television followed. They recorded their debut album God Fodder shortly afterwards and had top ten hits with "Until You Find Out" and "Happy" in 1991. Several years of hard working touring followed, playing with, amongst others Mega City Four, Senseless Things and Jesus Jones. During this period they recorded their second album Are You Normal in 1992, which was promoted by the singles Not Sleeping Around and Intact.
The band spent the next few years on a worldwide tour before recording their final album Brainbloodvolume. The album had a more adult sound than before (because they were, after all, no longer teenagers), together with a more diverse sound including samplers and keyboards. Their record label released the album in America before the UK, so most fans bought in on import leading to a poor UK chart position when it was eventually released leading to tensions within the band and with the label. The poor chart showing may have also been to do with a changed music scene now fully in the swing of Britpop. The band had one last UK top 40 single with All I Ask of Myself Is That I Hold Together in 1995 following an appearance on The Word. The band split in 1995. Singer Jonn Penney formed a new band, Groundswell who had little success.
The band reformed with a different line up in 2000, for a show in Dudley. The show was a success and the band have done a christmas show every year since then, including a four date tour in 2004 where the band performed several new songs. In 2005 they again played a few late-December gigs, and in June of 2006 their first new single in 11 years, "Hibernation" was released reaching No 23 in the UK Indie Chart. The "NedFest" weekend gigs to coincide with this at Birmingingham Barfly and London Forum were filmed for a DVD "Neds Dont Exist".
In June 2007 the DVD was released and Neds returned to headline the Glastonbury Left Field Stage on the Friday night of the festival following some low key warm up gigs.
On 12 May 2008 the band announced that the original line-up of Jonn, Rat, Mat, Alex, and Dan would be performing live together for the first time since 1995 on 6 December 2008 at the Astoria London.
Aim
Ned's Atomic Dustbin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I missed you again
Can't get a good aim
Ashamed, I can't get a grip on
Can't get a good aim
That's strange, I can't hold a gun right
Can't get a good aim
Can't get a good aim
Hold on, hold on tight
(Manchester, so much to answer for)
Lay off of my brain
Get off of my back
Get back on that train
And find your own track
Don't ever comeback
Don't ever comeback
Don't ever comeback
Don't ever comeback
The lyrics are from the song "Aim" by Ned's Atomic Dustbin. The song is a rock anthem that deals with the feeling of missed opportunities in life. The first stanza of the song reflects the singer's feelings of missing someone important in their life. The phrase "Can't get a good aim" is an analogy to his inability to shoot accurately like a marksman. This line tries to portray the feeling that the singer is missing something important in his life, just like an archer who misses the target. The line "That's strange, I can't hold a gun right" adds to the analogy, trying to say that the singer can't hold on to things that matter to him. The line "You don't stay in my sights" signifies the distance between the singer and the person they are missing. It also signifies the singer's inability to get things right.
The second stanza of the song is about the singer's quest for freedom from the thoughts that hold him back. The phrase "Lay off of my brain, get off of my back" conveys the need to be free. The line "Get back on that train and find your own track" denotes the singer's desire for his lost love to move away in life and pursue their own goals. The line "Don't ever come back" reinforces this idea of moving away and not looking back.
Overall, the song is a melancholic rock ballad that reflects on missed opportunities and the desire to move on from the past. The song encourages the singer to stop looking back, to let go of the things that are holding him back, and to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Been missing you baby
I have been feeling the absence of you, my love.
I missed you again
I have missed you once more.
Can't get a good aim
I am unable to focus on anything properly.
Ashamed, I can't get a grip on
I feel embarrassed that I am unable to control or manage a situation.
That's strange, I can't hold a gun right
It's odd that I am unable to handle or manage a situation that requires a certain level of control or precision.
You don't stay in my sights
You are not consistently within my visual field or line of sight.
Hold on, hold on tight
Please hold on tightly to me, and do not let go.
Lay off of my brain
Please refrain from bothering me mentally.
Get off of my back
Stop nagging or harassing me.
Get back on that train
Resume your journey elsewhere rather than sticking around here.
And find your own track
Discover your own direction or way of proceeding independent of me.
Don't ever comeback
Do not return to my life again.
Don't ever comeback
Do not return to my life again.
Don't ever comeback
Do not return to my life again.
Don't ever comeback
Do not return to my life again.
Contributed by Xavier I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.