scans.
BIN ON THE ROAD SO LONG
Despite the best efforts of our very own Mr Spencer, Ned's Atomic Dustbin
live to play another gig.
Photo by Mary Scanlon
THE FIRST thing I do when meeting Ned's Atomic Dustbin is cause singer
Jonn minor physical harm by opening a door on him.
Minutes later I tread on his foot, and after that (assuming he'll catch
it) I let another door swing straight into his nose.
Fortunately, Jonn's tolerance level is such that I escape with nothing
worse than a jovial, lads together death threat.
Jonn's droopy crimped ..fringe- a 'coincidental' band trademark —
sways in the breeze as the Neds climb aboard the van and head for tonight's
gig in Derby, startling countless trendy kids in flares en route with
the wholly reasonable demand that they, "get those trousers off!".
A fight breaks out in the front over which tape to put on. In the end
a breezy Bananarama compilation keeps most people happy, but guitarist
Rat has other ideas.
"Get that poofy shit off!" he yells, before conceding defeat
and plugging into a punk compilation on his personal stereo.
The Derby gig is a crazy affair, a Juddering feast of prickly guitar
confection and chunky pop hooklines — the band's manager, Tank,
accurately describes their sound as "a really pleasant racket".
With their brightly garbed following turning the dancefloor into a tangle
of swaying bodies and flailing limbs, Ned's Atomic Dustbin play all
four tracks from their galloping debut 'The Ingredients EP', bassist
Mat echoing Spinal Tap as he shows off his posh new
four-string ("listen to that sustain!"), while Jonn lurches
from side to side like a drunken triffid, his fringe sweeping the stage
at the same time.
Jonn belts out tunes from the new EP with a likeable swagger that oozes
chart-friendly charm. Tracks like the rollicking 'Aim', with its wry
"Manchester, so much to answer for" lift,
and the irresistibly fuzz-drenched 'Terminally Groovie' (sic) hit hard
and leave the crowd hungry for more.
"The most important thing onstage is to look as though you're into
it," says Jonn later In the band's native Stourbridge. "It's
quite handy having a fringe, you can chuck it about a bit, have a good
old. . ."
He trails off. The Neds have got other things on their minds. The EP
is released today, and the group have spent all morning dashing around
the local record shops looking at it, even spotting a couple of people
who looked like they might possibly have bought it.
The band are quite open about their excitement, and thankfully this
reluctance to nurture a 'cool' Image extends to everything they do.
Mat told his mum that his record was out this morning, "I was going,
Eh mother, our single's out today, and she goes, Hang on a second while
I clean the cat vomit off the kitchen wall".
See what I mean? Nothing pretentious about that. And what other band
would put Bananarama on when there's a journalist around? Why not something
cool, like The MC5, The Stooges. . ?
Jonn: "It's hard to find music that everyone likes in the van,
that's why we always end up with at least three people that've got personal
stereos on, so the 'Nanas are easy."
Mat: "Who wants to listen to f**king Iggy Pop when you're going
to a gig, know what I mean?"
Do you make a point of not putting up a front?
Jonn: "What, you mean to people like you? It's just not our way,
is it?"
Alex, who handles half of the band's bass noise, has a theory about
this.
"You just get confused if you're trying to be someone else, because
you end up having a press-face and you've got your own face, and you
have to live up to those. Whereas if you've got your own thing and you're
sure of it then you can just be yourself."
Have you got over your bad review in Sounds' singles
page yet?
Rat (guitar, wanted to be an accountant): "We don't give a dirty
turd about it."
This last comment inspires otherwise silent drummer Dan to unleash what
must be the coarsest, filthiest laugh in Stourbridge.
Sid James would be proud of him.
ALEX RECKONS the Neds' tastes range from Enya, of 'Orinoco Flow' fame,
to Deep Purple. Does this variety of influences help give their music
its own fizz?
"Oh yeah!" Jonn enthuses. "It's good to know there's
other people in the band who'd consider doing a certain style of music
that maybe you think Is utterly atrocious. . .but It's good that they
would consider it.
"Leave It to other people to bracket your band," says Mat,
"don't bracket it yourselves."
The night before last at Liverpool Eric's, three days after the Derby
gig, Ned's Atomic Dustbin play another storming set. It's an indication
of their spirit that the event is successful despite Jonn's head repeatedly
banging against the low ceiling (he's got the bruises to prove it).
When Alex's bass bust, the band also have to perform a live 'remix'
of their EP. "I broke a string on the first chords of the first
song," he explains with a wince.
Jonn: "I don't like stopping songs just cos something breaks. I
like carrying on, so these days I just say, This is a remix, and we
keep playing, it's really good."
Mat says the Manchester line In 'Aim' is a bit of fun that fits what
he calls "the skippity-dippity drumbeat in the middle of the song".
Jonn, however, isn't going to let the Mancs mob off so lightly, "It's
just pathetic how Manchester's been sold," he grumbles.
Mat: "They're all good bands, but there's an awful lot riding on
the wave that doesn't even, come from Manchester. Apart from the singer,
The Charlatans are all from Wolverhampton. The bassist was in a mod
band called Makin' Time."
Alex: "It's good that 'alternative' bands are getting in the charts
though, cos it opens things up for groups like Ride."
Mat: "I went to see The Charlatans at Leeds, and it was f**klng
packed. Everyone was wearing silly trousers, but at least people are
going out to see live bands again."
Do you ever worry that your name could be misconstrued? Isn't there
a danger that people could see the name, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and think
you're some wacky pub outfit or joke band?
"You've got to take the connotations of your name, haven't you?
It's like The Doors is a stupid name, and The Carpenters, as if Karen
Carpenter ever sawed a piece of wood in half in her life!"
Ned's Atomic Dustbin hate being asked why they've got two bassists ("as
if Joe Punter gives a dog's ringpiece" sneers Mat) and, as you
can tell from their irresistibly fresh pop noise,
nostalgia has no place in their masterplan.
"We've done the past, let's do the present," says Mat, "and
who knows about the future?"
The good news on this score is that 'The Ingredients EP' leapt straight
into the Top 75 after selling 2,000 copies in the first two days. But
live is where it's at for the Neds.
What's the nicest thing that's been said to you so far, Mat?
"I enjoyed the gig. That's all you can say."