Napalm Death, Thirty Years of Raising Hell With Barney Greenway

"Napalm Death Play Really Fucking Nasty, Horrible Music… But Lyrically It’s All About Love, Peace and Humanity".

- Olly Thomas

Despite describing himself as an “archetypal Brummie”, Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway has been happily living on the South Coast for five years. Life in a small Sussex town suits him: his neighbours are hippies, the beach is a short stroll away, and he can see the beautiful South Downs from his bedroom window.

For anyone familiar with the music his band, Napalm Death, make – or anyone who’s even heard their name – this tranquil scene might not chime with expectations. However, Barney is keen to encourage a more rounded view.

“The thing is, you’ve got to look at Napalm Death as a complete paradox,” he explains. “It is particularly fucking nasty music, really horrible and played at speed. Yet the ethos and the lyrics are the complete antithesis of that. They’re about love, peace and humanity, and understanding what humanity really means in the purest sense.”

This sense of ethics and thoughtfulness extends to the way Barney chooses to live his life. He won’t put his money in banks with links to arms manufacturers or Big Pharma, strives for energy efficiency in his house and car, and even campaigned to stop his old school being turned into an academy. This is a man who cares a lot.

“Human beings are what matters to me; sentient beings are what matters to me. Everything that lives on this earth, basically,” he asserts, adding cryptically, “and whatever might be beyond.”