The The

Matt Johnson and the The

The The is essentially the project of Matt Johnson, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Its first live show was on May 11, 1979 at the Africa Centre in London, with Johnson and the synthesizer player Keith Laws. In 1981 Johnson signed to Some Bizzare, Laws left, and he continued with changing collaborators; Marc Almond sang at the 1982 Marquee shows. The debut Burning Blue Soul (1981, 4AD) was credited to Johnson. "Uncertain Smile" (October 1982) was the first charting single, and Soul Mining followed on October 21, 1983, reaching 27 in the UK. Infected (1986) reached 14, Mind Bomb (1989) four, and Dusk (1993) two. From 1988 Johnny Marr, James Eller and David Palmer were full members, with D.C. Collard joining in 1989; Marr and Eller left in 1993.

Hanky Panky (1995) covered Hank Williams, and NakedSelf followed in 2000. The band played Meltdown in 2002 as guests of David Bowie, then went quiet until a 2017 and 2018 return with Johnson, Eller, Collard, Earl Harvin and Barrie Cadogan, announced on May 18, 2018, including the Royal Albert Hall on June 5, 2018 (released as The Comeback Special, 2021). Ensoulment (2024) reached 19. Johnson runs the Cineola label and has scored films. The book Long Shadows, High Hopes by Neil Fraser appeared in 2018.