Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an alternative/grebo band formed in 1987 in Stourb… Read Full Bio ↴Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an alternative/grebo band formed in 1987 in Stourbridge, England. They consisted of John Penney (vocals), Gareth "Rat" Pring (guitar), Mat Chelsin (bass), Alex Griffin (bass) and Dan Warton (drums). They were known for their distinct sound that utilized two bass guitarists. The band split in 1995, only to reform in 2000. They are best known for the songs "Kill Your Television", "Grey Cell Green" and "Not Sleeping Around".

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.

Your Complex
Ned's Atomic Dustbin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't go telling me it's gone wrong,
Don't go telling me on the phone
'Cause the only voice I hear is my own
So don't go telling me it's gone wrong

That don't rub with me
I know better
Don't go telling me it's gone wrong

And for christ's sake

Oh, for christ's sake not on the phone
'Cause the only voice you'll hear is your own
So don't go telling me on the phone
That don't rub with me

I know better
And it's not so complicated
It's not so complicated, is it?
There's a wire of tension

Between you and me
Why can't we disagree to agree?

Overall Meaning

Ned's Atomic Dustbin's song "Your Complex" is an intense yet cryptic comment on communication breakdowns in a relationship. The song begins with a plea to not inform the singer that something has "gone wrong." The use of the word "gone" suggests that whatever it is has already happened and cannot be reversed. The second line warns against telling the singer on the phone because the only voice that will be heard is the singer's. This line seems to suggest that the singer is unwilling to listen or accept any commentary about the situation.

The chorus implies that the singer thinks they know better than the person trying to inform them that "it's gone wrong." This idea is reinforced by the repetition of "That don't rub with me, I know better." The tone of the chorus is confrontational and aggressive. They continue to push back against the other person's attempts to communicate, insisting that they do not want to hear it on the phone. The third verse is possibly the most revealing, suggesting that there is tension between the singer and the other person, but they seem to be unable to find common ground. The final line, "why can't we disagree to agree," suggests that the singer is willing to compromise, but the other person is not.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't go telling me it's gone wrong,
I don't want to hear that something has gone wrong.

Don't go telling me on the phone
I don't want to hear bad news over the phone.

'Cause the only voice I hear is my own
When I'm on the phone, I can only hear my own voice.

So don't go telling me it's gone wrong
Once again, I don't want to hear that something has gone wrong.

That don't rub with me
I don't agree with that.

I know better
I am confident in my knowledge and understanding of the situation.

Oh, for christ's sake not on the phone
Once again, I really don't want to hear bad news over the phone.

'Cause the only voice you'll hear is your own
When you're on the phone, you can only hear your own voice.

And it's not so complicated
The situation is not as complex as it seems.

It's not so complicated, is it?
Don't you agree that it's not that complicated?

There's a wire of tension
There is a feeling of tension between us.

Between you and me
The tension is between the two of us specifically.

Why can't we disagree to agree?
Why can't we come to a mutual understanding, even if we don't agree on everything?

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

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