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The The
The The performing in 2024
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	New wave post-punk alternative rock
Years active	1979–present
Labels	4AD Some Bizzare Epic Nothing/Interscope Lazarus/Cineola
Members	Matt Johnson James Eller D. C. Collard Earl Harvin Barrie Cadogan
Past members	Keith Laws Tom Johnston Peter Ashworth Colin Lloyd Tucker Simon Fisher Turner David Palmer Johnny Marr Jim Fitting Keith Joyner Jared Michael Nickerson Eric Schermerhorn Brian MacLeod Brad Kahn Gail Ann Dorsey Spencer Campbell Andrew Kubiszewski Chris Whitten
Website	thethe.com

The The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriterMatt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member.

The The achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching the top 40. Their most successful studio album,Infected (1986), spent 30 weeks on the chart. They followed this with the top-ten studio albumsMind Bomb (1989) andDusk (1993).^[1]

The The operated as a solo project from 1982 to 1987, though albums featured contributions from musicians such asJools Holland,JG Thirlwell andNeneh Cherry. It became a full band from 1988 to 2002 and featured the guitaristJohnny Marr until 1994. The The went on hiatus from 2002 to 2017, and released their first studio album in 24 years,Ensoulment, in 2024.

While trying to get his band going, in 1978 Matt Johnson had recorded a solodemo album (See Without Being Seen) which he sold at various underground gigs on cassettes. In 1979, working with Colin Lloyd-Tucker (a friend and colleague atDe Wolfe Music, the Soho music publisher/recording studio) Johnson recorded his first album proper,Spirits. This album remains unreleased, though the track "What Stanley Saw" was later licensed toCherry Red Records for theirPerspectives and Distortioncompilation album, which also featuredVirgin Prunes,Lemon Kittens,Thomas Leer,Kevin Coyne andMark Perry.

In November 1977 Johnson had placed an advertisement inNME seeking "bass/lead guitarist" who likedthe Velvet Underground andSyd Barrett.^[2] In 1979 he placed a second advertisement in theNME, stating his new influences asthe Residents andThrobbing Gristle.^[3]

The The made their debut at London's Africa Centre on 11 May 1979,^[4] third on the bill toScritti Politti andPragVEC, using backing tape tracks that Johnson created at his day job at De Wolfe studios for the drums and bass. The band at this point consisted of Johnson on vocal, electric piano, guitar and tapes andKeith Laws on synthesiser and tapes. Laws suggested the name the The to Matt Johnson.^{[citation needed]}

As the The was now getting under way, Johnson was simultaneously working with experimental synth-pop combo the Gadgets, a studio group he formed with Colin Lloyd Tucker, his colleague at De Wolfe recording studios.^{[citation needed]}

Peter Ashworth, then known as Triash and later to become a noted photographer, became the The's drummer in 1980, and Tom Johnston (also managing the The at this point and later to become a cartoonist for theEvening Standard,Daily Mirror andThe Sun newspapers) was added on bass.^[5] Although both Ashworth and Johnston were credited with appearing on the The's debut single ("Controversial Subject"/"Black and White") on4AD Records, neither actually played on therecordings, which were produced byWire membersBruce Gilbert andGraham Lewis. All instruments were played by Johnson and Laws. Johnston and Ashworth soon dropped out of the The and returned to their respective day jobs. As a duo (Johnson and Laws), the The began performing concerts with Wire,Cabaret Voltaire,DAF,This Heat,the Birthday Party and Scritti Politti.^{[citation needed]}

In early 1981 the The also contributed the composition "Untitled" to theSome Bizzare Album.^[6] In September of that year Johnson and Laws signed arecording contract withSome Bizzare Records and released the 7" single "Cold Spell Ahead".^[6] By this stage Matt Johnson had begun playing all the instruments himself so Laws left to pursue his studies, leaving Johnson as a solo artist using a group moniker.

Johnson was signed up later in 1981 to 4AD Records byIvo Watts-Russell to record a solo studio album,Burning Blue Soul.^[6] All instrumentation and vocals were performed by Johnson, but the album featured various producers including Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis, Ivo and Johnson himself. Years later, owing to a request from Johnson, it would be re-issued and credited to the The so all of his albums would be in the same rack together.

Towards the end of 1981 Colin Lloyd-Tucker andSimon Fisher Turner joined the band for a series of stripped-down the The acoustic concerts in London.

Johnson spent the next few years collaborating with a diverse range of creative individuals, changing personnel from project to project.

The The's next single was a retooling of "Cold Spell Ahead", now entitled "Uncertain Smile".^[6] Produced inNew York byMike Thorne,^[6] it reached No. 68 in theUK singles chart. This version is different from the more familiar album version, and featured saxophone and flute by session musician Crispin Cioe rather than (as on the album version) the piano ofSqueeze'sJools Holland.

In 1982, the intended debut album by the The (The Pornography of Despair) was recorded, but was never officially mixed nor released.^[7] Johnson apparently ran off some cassette copies for friends, and several tracks ("Mental Healing Process", "Leap into the Wind", "Absolute Liberation") were subsequently issued as additional tracks on the "This Is the Day" single. "Three Orange Kisses from Kazan" and "Waitin' for the Upturn" (featuringSteve James Sherlock playing flute and saxophone) also date from this era, and appeared asB-sides. Some of the previously mentioned cuts, along with the tracks "The Nature of Virtue" and "Fruit of the Heart" (which were similarly recorded around the same time), appeared as bonus selections on a cassette-only issue of the band's eventual debut album, butThe Pornography of Despair album as a whole remains unissued.

Around 1982 the The played a series of four concerts at theMarquee Club inWardour Street,Soho, entitled 'An evening of Rock n Roll with the The'. These concerts were weekly for four weeks and featuredMarc Almond on guitar and vocals.^{[citation needed]}

The The released their official studio album debut, the synth-noir effortSoul Mining, in 1983.^[6] It featured the minor UK No. 71 hit "This Is the Day", as well as a new recording of the The performing "Uncertain Smile". Produced by Johnson andPaul Hardiman, it featured guest appearances fromOrange Juice's drummerZeke Manyika, Jools Holland,Thomas Leer andJG Thirlwell (a.k.a.Foetus).

During the The's more prolific period of releases, fromSoul Mining (1983) toDusk (1992), most artwork used on the albums and single releases was produced by Johnson's brotherAndrew Johnson, using the pseudonym Andy Dog. The artwork has a distinctive style, and sometimes courted controversy, most notably the initial release of the 1986 single "Infected", which featured a masturbating devil and was withdrawn from sale and re-issued with an edited version of the same drawing.^{[citation needed]}

In 1985, the none-album track "Flesh and Bones" was released on the compilation albumIf You Can't Please Yourself, You Can't Please Your Soul byEMI.

For their second studio albumInfected (1986),^[6] the The still consisted only of Johnson, but was augmented by session musicians and featured friends such asManyika andRip Rig + Panic singerNeneh Cherry andAnna Domino. This album spawned four charting singles in the UK, notably "Heartland", which made the UK top 30.^[8] It was also unusual for having a full-length accompanying film. Costing hundreds of thousands of pounds,Infected: The Movie was shot on locations in Bolivia, Peru and New York. Different songs were directed by different directors, mainlyTim Pope andPeter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (ofThrobbing Gristle).

Throughout 1986–1987 Johnson toured the world extensively withInfected: The Movie, showing the film in cinemas in place of performing live concerts. The film was also shown twice in its entirety onChannel 4 in the UK, onMTV's120 Minutes in theUS, and onMuchMusic'sCity Limits in Canada.

In 1987, Johnson also took some tentative steps back into live performance. Whilst promotingInfected: The Movie in Australia he had a chance encounter withBilly Bragg, who persuaded him to return to Britain and supportRed Wedge, a coalition of like-minded musicians supporting theLabour Party in itsgeneral election campaign. Johnson agreed and enrolled longtime friend and collaborator Manyika to join him in performing shows in London featuring stripped-down versions of political the The songs such as "Heartland". This experience convinced Johnson to put a band together once again.

By 1988, the The was an actual band again, Johnson having recruited ex-Smiths guitaristJohnny Marr, ex-Nick Lowe bassist James Eller, and ex-ABC drummer David Palmer as fully-fledged members.^[6] This line-up, plus guest singerSinéad O'Connor, recorded their third studio albumMind Bomb,^[6] which debuted at No. 4 in theUK Albums Chart and featured the band's highest-charting single to that time, "The Beat(en) Generation", which peaked at No. 18 in theUK singles chart.^[8]

Keyboardist D.C. Collard was added to the official line-up in 1989 after the band's former session playerSteve Hogarth, who had played onInfected, opted to become the new lead vocalist ofMarillion instead.^[9] The band embarked on a lengthy world tour in 1989–90 calledthe The Versus the World. The live film of the same name, directed byTim Pope, was filmed during the three nights the The performed at London'sRoyal Albert Hall at the end of the tour. Vocalist Melanie Redmond, who had just completed a world tour withDuran Duran, joined the tour during the European leg as a session musician.

The studio EPShades of Blue was released in 1990. This included cover versions ofFred Neil's "Dolphins" andDuke Ellington's "Solitude" as well as a new original song "Jealous of Youth" and a live version of "Another Boy Drowning" fromBurning Blue Soul. This and a later EP of remixes, 1993'sDis-infected, were compiled into a 1994 full-length album for the North American market calledSolitude.

In 1993, with Johnson, Marr, Collard, Eller and Palmer, Some Bizzare Records/Epic issued their fourth studio albumDusk, which debuted at No. 2 in the UK and spun off three top 40 singles in the UK,^[8] led by "Dogs of Lust". Another world tour followed, theLonely Planet tour, at which point the band's line-up was reshuffled; Marr and Eller left, and were replaced byAtlanta-based guitarist Keith Joyner and New York bassist Jared Michael Nickerson after Johnson relocated the band to the US. Also added wasBoston harmonica player Jim Fitting (formerly ofTreat Her Right), who auditioned in New York in early 1993. Palmer bowed out partway through the tour and was replaced by ex-Stabbing Westward drummerAndy Kubiszewski.^[4] The band headlined the main stage at the 1993Reading Festival.

Another full-length film, directed by longtime collaborator Tim Pope, was made for this album.From Dusk Til Dawn was shot inNew Orleans and New York. Along with Johnson and Johnny Marr, it also features various characters from the New York underground scene such as sexologistAnnie Sprinkle, writer and raconteurQuentin Crisp,Guardian Angels founderCurtis Sliwa, and pornographic film actor Rick Savage amongst many carnival characters.

Now permanently relocated to New York, the The's next project was 1995'sHanky Panky, an album that consisted entirely ofHank Williams cover versions.Hanky Panky was recorded by a new group consisting of Johnson, Collard, Fitting, ex-Iggy Pop guitaristEric Schermerhorn, former bassist forDavid BowieGail Ann Dorsey (billed as "Hollywood" Dorsey), and drummer the "Reverend"Brian MacLeod. Their cover version of "I Saw the Light" hit No. 31 UK, released by Some Bizzare Label / Epic.

An experimental albumGun Sluts was recorded in 1997, but it was left unreleased by the band after it was rejected for being too uncommercial by their label. The The severed their 18-year relationship with Sony and moved toInterscope, onTrent Reznor'sNothing Records imprint.

In 2000, the The, at this time consisting of Johnson, Schermerhorn,Nashville bassist Spencer Campbell andNew Jersey drummer Earl Harvin, releasedNakedSelf and embarked on another lengthy world tour, theNaked Tour, which lasted 14 months.

This same line-up also recorded two new tracks, "Deep Down Truth", featuringAngela McCluskey on vocals and "Pillar Box Red". Both songs were produced byClive Langer andAlan Winstanley for the 2002 compilation album45 RPM: The Singles of the The.

In June 2002, the The made a sole live appearance atMeltdown festival at London's Royal Festival Hall as guests ofDavid Bowie. At this point, the band consisted solely of Johnson, longtime friend and collaboratorJG Thirlwell on tapes and loops, and young film directorBenn Northover on film and video.^[4]

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Since 2003, the reclusive Johnson has generally kept away from the public eye and has concentrated primarily on soundtrack work, scoring numerous documentaries, films, and art installations. The The's music has featured in a diverse range of cinema over many years, from cult classics such as Jürgen Muschalek's (Muscha)Decoder ("Three Orange Kisses from Kazan") andGregg Araki'sNowhere ("Love Is Stronger Than Death") to big-budget epics such asSylvester Stallone'sJudge Dredd ("Darkness Falls"), prompting Johnson's move intofilm score composition.

For English directorNichola Bruce, it has included the documentaryOne Man Show: Dramatic Art of Steven Berkoff (1995) and a documentary feature film about theApollo Moon landings,Moonbug,^[10] which was completed in autumn 2010 and won the Special Jury Remi Award for Theatrical Feature Documentary at the 2011WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. The soundtrack was released in 2012 as volume 2 in the series of original soundtrack albums produced through Johnson's Cineola imprint.

For Swedish filmmaker Johanna St Michaels, this has includedBest Wishes Bernhard (prize winning film of Dokumentär Films Premien Nordic Panorama 2003),Snapshots from Reality (Nominated for Best International Short at theBirds Eye View Film festival at London'sICA 2007),The Track (2007),Going Live (2008),The Island Amid the Worlds (2010) andBilder av Dina (2010). The latest collaboration between Johnson and St Michaels,Penthouse North, premiered at theHot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in May 2014.

In June 2009, it was announced that the The had created an original soundtrack to the Gerard Johnson debut feature filmTony, released February 2010 on The The's Cineola imprint in March 2010, as the first volume of several forthcoming soundtrack and instrumental albums.

In May 2014, the The completed an original soundtrack for Gerard Johnson's subsequent film,Hyena, starringPeter Ferdinando,Stephen Graham, andNeil Maskell. The album was released on 6 March 2015 as the third part in the Cineola series.

In May 2007, the The released a new download-only single on their web site. Entitled "Mrs. Mac," the track is an autobiographical song about Johnson's first day at school as a child inStratford,East London. All instruments and vocals on the track were performed by Johnson.^[11]

A press release was issued along with this track, announcing a forthcoming the The album calledThe End of the Day with various songs from The The's catalogue being performed by some of Johnson's favourite artists includingElysian Fields,JG Thirlwell,Thomas Leer,Elbow,Rob Ellis,John Parish,Anna Domino,Meja,Angela McCluskey, Ergo Phizmiz, and Rustin Man (a.k.a.Paul Webb), among others.^[11] The album was eventually released in October 2017 in theRadio Cineola - The Trilogy box set.

Since 2009, "This Is the Day" has been extensively used in high-profile advertising campaigns forLevi's Dockers,M&M's andAmazon. It was used as the opening song for the filmI Feel Pretty (2018).^{[citation needed]}

The The's music continued to appear on British radio and television such as inShane Meadows' 2010Channel 4 miniseriesThis Is England '86 and in 2013 in the award-winning Britishcomedy-drama television seriesFresh Meat. In 2011, "This Is the Day" was covered by Welsh rock bandManic Street Preachers.^{[citation needed]}

Matt Johnson has created several new arms of the The:

• Cinéola; a label specifically created for soundtrack and spoken word releases published on CDs within small, hardback books, complete with photographs and text.
• Radio Cinéola; a 15-minute "shortwave radio" broadcast downloadable from the official web site and featuring previews of upcoming releases, works in progress, chats with collaborators, and, previously unheard material from the vault. The broadcasts are presented by Johnson and other guests. Shows have so far included contributions from and collaborations with musiciansDJ Food, Deadly Avenger, Hayley Willis, Thomas Feiner,Angela McCluskey, and Colin Lloyd Tucker plus poet John Tottenham, photographerSteve Pyke, actress Marlene Kaminsky, spiritual healer Abdi Assadi, and many others. Monthly downloadable Radio Cineola broadcasts ceased at the end of December 2010 although the broadcasts continue at randomly chosen dates.^{[citation needed]}
• Fifty First State Press; a book publishing company whose name is inspired by the chorus of Johnson's 1986 song "Heartland." The first release, in 2012, wasTales From The Two Puddings, a memoir by Matt's dad, Eddie, which recounts the Johnson family's time owning one of East London's most notorious pubs and music houses, theTwo Puddings in Stratford. It features many of the famous customers of this pub, such asJack Charlton, theKray twins,Van Morrison,Bobby Moore,Clyde McPhatter,the Who,Daniel Farson andTerry Spinks.^{[citation needed]}

During this period, Johnson's political activity has been limited to conservation issues in his native east London. He was a founder member of theSave Shoreditch committee and directed and narrated a short film for its cause. Along with fellow artists such as Brad Lochore,Tracey Emin andLucinda Rogers he has been fighting the eastwards expansion of theCity of London intoShoreditch and the probable demolition of much of this East London neighbourhood. The day after the London Olympics finished in August 2012 Johnson made a rare public appearance on theBBC'sNewsnight current affairs programme, in order to debate withRobin Wales, the Mayor ofNewham, about the impact and legacy of theOlympic Games uponStratford, the part of London Johnson grew up in.^{[citation needed]}

In the spring of 2014,Sony Music Entertainment announced plans to release aSoul Mining 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Boxset in the summer of 2014. The reissue was remastered by Matt Johnson atAbbey Road Studios.

HarperCollins imprintThe Friday Project announced in the spring of 2014 that they would be publishing the first official biography of the The, authored by Neil Fraser.

For 2017'sRecord Store Day, after premiering the song on a Radio Cineola broadcast, the The released a new 7" record called "We Can't Stop What's Coming," collaborating once again with Johnny Marr. On 10 September, it was announced that Johnson would be touring as the The again for the first time in 17 years. Two dates were announced, in Denmark on 1 June 2018 and at Royal Albert Hall on 5 June 2018. The Royal Albert Hall tickets sold out, with two extra performances added atO2'sBrixton Academy andTroxy, both in London. Several more shows around the UK and Europe were subsequently added, as well as eight shows in the US. The The also played on 2 and 3 October 2018 in theSydney Opera House.

The touring announcement came subsequent to the The announcing a new triple-vinyl limited-edition box set,Radio Cineola: Trilogy, to be released when they kick off their first gigs since 2002. Featuring three albums –The End of the Day,The Inertia Variations, andMidnight to Midnight – the triple box set package, available for pre-order from 6 October 2017, also came with 48-page bound book which included album lyrics and exclusive photos.The End of the Day contains interpretations of a selection of The The songs from singers across the globe and includes The The's recent single "We Can't Stop What's Coming".The Inertia Variations features Johnson narrating John Tottenham's epic poetic cycle. "Midnight to Midnight includes interviews and soundscapes taken from Johnson's 12-hour UK Election Day Radio Cineola shortwave broadcast plus the electronic score fromThe Inertia Variations documentary," said a spokesperson for the band speaking toThe Quietus.

In January 2021, the soundtrack to the 2019 filmMuscle, directed by Gerard Johnson, was released. The first track on this EP was "I Want 2 B U," a new song that was released as a 7" single for Record Store Day 2020.^[12]

On 29 October 2021, the The releasedThe Comeback Special on Cinéola and earMUSIC, a live album recorded at the Royal Albert Hall gig in 2018. This album was released in a number of formats, including one release with an art book and a film of the performance.^[13][14][15]

In October 2023, the The announced their first tour since 2018 that will take place in 2024.^[16] In May 2024, it was announced thatEnsoulment, the band's first studio album in nearly 25 years, was released in September to accompany the tour.^[17]

On 18 May 2018, the band members for the live comeback were announced on the official The Facebook page.

• Matt Johnson – vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, melodica, engineering (1979–2002, 2017–present)
• James Eller – bass guitar, backing vocals (1988–1994, 2018–present)
• DC Collard – keyboards, melodica, backing vocals (1989–1997, 2018–present)
• Earl Harvin – drums (1998–2002, 2018–present)
• Barrie Cadogan – lead guitar, backing vocals (2018–present)

Matt Johnson is the only permanent member of the The. From 1983 to 1988 and again from 2002 to the present, he was the only official member. Some former permanent members currently play in the band as touring musicians.

Official band members have been:

The following artists were not official members of the The but made notable contributions to various projects by the band:

• Matt Johnson:Burning Blue Soul (1981) –AUS No. 198^[19]
  • Original release and 1983 reissue credited to Matt Johnson. The 1993 re-release ofBurning Blue Soul credits this album to the The.

• Solitude (1993) – AUS No. 126^[19]
• 45 RPM (2002) - AUS No. 180^[19]
• London Town Box Set (2002)

Exclusive the The tracks appear on the following compilation albums of tracks by various artists:

• Some Bizzare Album (1981)
• Natures Mortes – Still Lives (1982)
• If You Can't Please Yourself, You Can't Please Your Soul (1985)
• Judge Dredd Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996)
• Mitra Music for Nepal (2015)
• 90's Rarities – Volume 2 (2016)

The recording career of the The and Matt Johnson features numerous albums that have never seen commercial release. Despite their unavailability on disc, Johnson includes these albums in almost every official discography issued by the band.

See also:Solitude (EP) which was released in December 1999 and contained remixes of the The songs—most notably, "That Was the Day," a version of their single, "This Is the Day".

• Official website
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• The The

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