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.
Grey Cell Green
Ned's Atomic Dustbin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you'll be running far away
you're telling me it's in the trees, in the trees
it's not, it's inside me
you're telling me it's on the ground, all around
it's not, it's inside me
you're telling me it's in disguise, well use your eyes
it's not, it's inside me
it's not, it's inside me
the grey sells green only if the green cell's grey
the grey cell's green only if the green sells grey
The lyrics of Ned's Atomic Dustbin's "Grey Cell Green" describe a search for something that the singer believes is outside of themselves. They are told that their desire is in the trees, on the ground, in disguise, or in nature itself, but the singer rejects these external sources and insists that their desire is inside of them. It's a powerful assertion that reminds us to trust ourselves and our own intuition rather than looking to external sources for guidance.
The central idea of the song is encapsulated in the refrain: "the grey sells green only if the green cell's grey / the grey cell's green only if the green sells grey." This line speaks to the importance of balance and nuance in our understanding of the world. If we see everything in black and white, we miss the complexity and richness of the world around us. The beauty of life is in the tension between opposing forces - light and dark, good and evil, joy and sadness - and it's only by wrestling with these contradictions that we can truly come to understand ourselves and our place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
when your desire has been found,
Once you find what you really want,
you'll be running far away
You'll want to run away from your current situation.
you're telling me it's in the trees, in the trees
You're saying that what you seek is found in nature.
it's not, it's inside me
But it's really inside me, not out in the world.
you're telling me it's on the ground, all around
You think it's all around you, on the earth.
it's not, it's inside me
But it's really just within me, not in my surroundings.
you're telling me it's in disguise, well use your eyes
You think it's hiding, but you just need to look closer.
it's not, it's inside me
But really, it's just inside me, not disguised at all.
you're telling me it's mother earth, some sign of birth
You believe it's related to Mother Earth or the cycle of life.
it's not, it's inside me
But really, it's just inside me and not related to nature at all.
the grey sells green only if the green cell's grey
If your positive qualities are diminished, your negative ones will become more noticeable.
the grey cell's green only if the green sells grey
If your negative qualities are strengthened, your positive ones will become less apparent.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ALEXANDER THOMAS GRIFFIN, DANIEL CHARLES WORTON, GARETH JOHN PRING, JOHNATHAN PENNEY, MATTHEW RICHARD CHESLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@redsixxrevolution6676
Who’s still listening to this in 2024? If you are then your taste in music is awesome!!!
@HoldOnToHope2023
Right here!!!! I’m 44, just bought it on ITunes. Love this song!!! My nieces are 4 and 5 and I’m playing it for them right now ♥️
@samuelgranier284
47 here ! still good to go !
@chortleboy
Listen to this like 2x a year since released…I’ll be 51 soon and this shit still fires me up
@alfonsosalgado7317
Back atcha in my 60s was there when all happen 80s 90s
@gregthomas2904
I am…
@dcalver1967
53 years old at my last birthday and still remember the excitement I felt when I heard this for the first time. Still love it..love it...love it!
@scottmcgibeny
49 here and I still get excited cranking this jam up to 11
@skinnypete6698
57 and I'm rocking to it RIGHT NOW!!!
@nathangaskell5219
50. All a blur from 88 to 93. There was a rave, gig or party every night. It's like hearing them for the first time