Ned's Atomic Dustbin: Are You Normal?

Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an English Grebo rock band that formed in Stourbridge in West Midlands in November 1987. 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 Giffin played melody lines high up on one bass, and Matt 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. Towards the end they also branched out into shorts, hats and other merchandise items.

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 Godfodder 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".