Ned's Atomic Dustbin formed in 1987 (originally with a female vocalist), in response to an Ad placed by Jonn, asking for "enthusiasm and commitment" as the main requirements. Taking their name from an episode of 60's comedy radio show The Goon Show, the band quickly gained recognition for their prolific live performances and unusual two-bass line-up. Acquiring the managerial services of Tank, brother of The Wonder Stuff's Martin Gilks, and parting ways with the female vocalist, the band continued to cement a reputation as one of Britain's premier live acts over the next few years - as well as becoming well known for their distinctive logo and multitude of merchandising designs (which even helped to fund early tours.)

In January 1990, the band joined forces with Birmingham based label Chapter 22 (who had previously worked with the likes of The Mission and PWEI). Their first studio release, "The Ingredients EP", was put out in April (backed by their first headline tour) and managed to hit no. 2 in the Indie charts. Two subsequent singles followed, in the form of "Kill Your Television" and "Until You Find Out", both of which just scraped the outside of the uk top 50. Unfortunately, the band began to see the slight drawbacks of a small independent label - the distribution. "Until You Find Out" had managed a mid-week chart position of no. 33 - until the distribution company ran out of records. People who wanted the record just couldn't get hold of it, and it ended the week at no. 51.

With the success and attention the band were attracting, bigger labels began to show in interest in signing them up. Although keen to obtain the distribution power of a major label, the band were wary of the problems that signing to one could carry. In the end, the band decided to go with Sony, but in a clever move to maintain creative control, the band set up their own record label, Furtive, and told Sony that if they wanted the band - they'd have to have the label too. This allowed them all the benefits of being an independent label, but with the distribution power of a major.
The first fruit of this partnership was the single "Happy", which shot into the chart at no. 16. This was shortly followed in April by the band's debut album, "God Fodder", which exceeded expectations by making it to no. 4. More success followed with the single "Trust", the video for which was voted no. 1 in NME, and no. 2 in Melody Maker for that year. The band continued to tour heavily, even beginning to make some progress in the american market - albeit the country was a little late on picking up on the album. This caused a little friction, as the band found it impossible to write material on the road. Torn between the obvious benefits of continuing to promote the album there and the desire to write material, the decision was eventually taken to turn down further dates and head back home to start writing, especially as they did want to be seen as 'abandoning' the home market.

The band then set to work on their second album, "Are You Normal", which proved a more difficult prospect than expected. It was here that their unusual and very democratic writing style began to cause further problems, as all five members of the band had to be completely happy with any idea in order for it to progress. Add in a sixth person in the form of producer Andy Wallace, and pleasing everyone became more and more difficult. In later years, the band would say they weren't entirely happy with the overall production of the album feeling it felt a little 'flat' as a result of the compromises, and that while an excellent album, felt it could have been even better. They would learn a lot during the process however, and the album was released in October of 1992, to largely very positive reviews from the press. A few people seemed disappointed in the more Grown Up feeling of the album, which is ironic, since had the band simply pumped out 'more of the same', they'd probably have got a far more negative response - probably from the same people! Although it didn't match the success of God Fodder commercially, the album still managed a very respectable no. 13 in the uk charts, and contained some of the bands finest songs, such as the singles "Not Sleeping Around" (which managed no. 19) and "Intact" (which, in a strange twist, only managed to hit no. 35, but spent 6 weeks in the charts).

More touring followed, and eventually work on the third album began - here, however, the band hit a bit of a rut, and it was 3 years before a new album finally saw the light of day. As the band grew older and each members tastes changed, it became more and more difficult for them to agree on ideas and write material. A lot of tracks were written during this period but many were discarded or only made it as b-sides. In 1994, they released the "0.522" compilation, partly since they were aware that fans had nothing from them for some time, and also to collect all the band's non-album material that had since been deleted (and as a result was difficult and expensive to get hold of) in one (cheap, the title was chosen as they wanted it to be sold for £5.22) package. It also featured two of the new tracks that weren't destined for the third album. A very unenjoyable trip to a cottage in Wales caused some degree of concern for Sony - as a representative turned up to find that rather too much red wine had fueled some strange ideas - not least of which talk of a concept album titled 'Sugared Dodo' featuring things such Alex singing in foreign accents about cafe culture. Eek. Luckily, a few serious tracks made it out of the escapade, and following a much more relaxed trip to Brighton and the agreement that maybe they didn't have to agree all the time, the elusive third album "Brainbloodvolume" was finally completed in early 1995.
It received some mixed, though actually largely positive reviews from the press and public, many were impressed with the new direction, though others simply had decided Ned's were 'old news', and were too caught up with the "Next Big Things". Sales of the album however were disappointing. By this time Sony appeared to a have lost a lot of interest and faith in the band, and the marketing for the album lacked a little - and a bizarre decision to release the album in america four months ahead of the uk release, crippled sales in the uk (most fans who were aware of the album's existence had it imported.) Some fans also feel the choice of All I Ask as the comeback single may not have helped matters very much - although an excellent track, it wasn't really a good representation of either the band or the album, and perhaps turned away many of their previous, more casual fans. As a small triumph however, the band did manage to get the single 'Stuck' highly listed on Radio 1 -by refusing to tell them who the band were until they'd listened to the track and agreed to play it. As the band arrived in america for a tour to promote the album - without Rat, due to illness - Jonn took a call from Sony, who informed them that after the tour, they would be dropped from the label. Although Brainbloodvolume had by no means been a disaster, the band decided that it would just be too much for everyone to continue, and decided that once the tour was complete, they would part ways. And so it was in August of 1995, Ned's Atomic Dustbin announced they were calling it a day.

After the split the members went their seperate ways. Fairly soon after the split, Jonn decided to form another band, and after persuading Rat, formed Groundswell uk (with only 1 bass player this time :P). They signed to the label Gig records, but shortly after Rat announced he was leaving the band (the reason was never divulged publicly). Jonn and the rest of the band continued, releasing the single "Corrode" and planning for an album, that would have been entitled "Pole Position". However, the band didn't really feel like they were making much progress, and Jonn soon felt that 'starting all over again' was just becoming too much, and they called it a day in november of 1999. None of the other members were involved in any major projects, and all was quiet until the summer of 2000.

The band were approached by the owner of local venue JB's, where the band had played many of their early gigs (and even shot the Kill Your TV video in the old club), about reforming for small gig to celebrate the club's 30th anniversary. After some deliberation, they accepted - minus Rat and Mat, who felt it wasn't quite right for them at that time. Recruiting former Groundswell members Martin and Andy to fill in, the band took the stage on the 29th of July, expecting it to be a small one-off affair - even selling t-shirts emblazoned 'One More, No More' and 'ends atomic dustbin' - they soon found themselves in a state of shock as 5,000 people turned up in Ned's shirts :)
With such a positive reception, and with the band thoroughly enjoying themselves, they decided to schedule a few more gigs for the summer of 2001, and headed into the studio to re-record a few of the classics for prosperities sake (the 'One More, No More' gig also saw a cd release). In 2002, the returned to JB's for another gig, this time filmed and later released on dvd. As 2004 kicked off, they announced a short tour for the end of the year, and it soon came to light there would a little treat for those in attendance - new material! Two new tracks were previewed at the gigs, in the form of 'Hibernation' and 'Ambush'. Two more gigs followed in 2005, and In early 2006, they headed into the studio to record the first new Ned's material in over a decade. June of 06 saw the release of the new single (as a download and limited edition CD) 'Hibernation', featuring the title track, Ambush and a new remix of Kill Your TV. Things looked good for the possibility of the single charting in the official uk charts - sadly however, some technical hiccups meant a lot of pre-orders weren't counted, holding it back to number 92. 2007 saw a few more gigs, as well as another dvd release - entitled (Ned's Atomic Dustbin)... Don't Exist - documenting Hibernation's recording and the surrounding gigs. Around this time, Sony BMG were planning a new 'best of' compilation (of which there had been a couple already), luckily the person in charge was a fan and got in touch with the band to ask if they'd like a little input this time round - an event that proved to have some unexpected repercussions...

In early 2008, rumours began to surface - were Rat and Mat going to return? Rumour soon turned to fact, and it was announced that the original line-up would be taking to the stage for the first time since july of 1995! It seemed that following the collaboration for the Sony compilation, it had got everyone talking (or at least emailing) again, and they decided if they were talking, why weren't they playing? Following an invitation from the London Astoria, it seemed they finally felt the time was Right. Calling the gig 'Re: United' (a nod to the way it had came about), they played a sold out show in december, and soon announced another 'homecoming' gig at the Wulfren Hall for the following may. They will also play another show this december at which they will celebrate God Fodder by playing it in it's entirety. As for the future, Jonn has stated that Rat and Mat are here to stay, (though i'm sure everyone agrees Andy and Martin did a fantastic job, and will be missed - both are currently playing with their own band NowAssassin, best of luck boys!) and nothing is out of the question (more gigs, new material etc.), so watch this space! :)

For some more in-depth information into the bands history, it's well worth picking up Martin Roach's "The Eight Legged Atomic Dustbin Will Eat Itself", as well as the interviews available on the Shoot the Neds! dvd and Session box set. And of course, why not peruse the various old articles available on this very site? :)