The The
159455
221547512
2008-06-25T00:14:55Z
Iridescent
937705
Cleanup/[[WP:AWB/T|typo fixing]], typos fixed: familar → familiar using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]]
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| Name = The The
| Img =
| Img_capt =
| Img_size =
| Landscape =
| Background = group_or_band
| Birth_name =
| Alias =
| Born =
| Died =
| Origin =
| Instrument =
| Voice_type =
| Genre =
| Occupation =
| Years_active = [[1979]] - present
| Label =
| Associated_acts =
| URL =
| Current_members = [[Matt Johnson (singer)|Matt Johnson]]
| Past_members = [[Johnny Marr]]<br>[[Keith Laws]]<br>[[James Eller]]<br>[[D.C. Collard]]<br>[[David Palmer (drummer)|Dave Palmer]]<br>[[Eric Schermerhorn]]<br>[[Earl Harvin]]
| Notable_instruments =
}}
'''The The''' is an [[England|English]] musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since [[1979]], with singer/songwriter/frontman [[Matt Johnson (singer)|Matt Johnson]] being the only constant band member. Releases are fairly few and far between for the band, but over the years The The have sold several million albums internationally and achieved critical acclaim — their [[1983 in music|1983]] album ''Soul Mining'' was voted the third best album of the year by British music magazine ''[[Melody Maker]]''. This album featured the song "Uncertain Smile", which at one point was voted the third greatest song ever by [[Australia]]n [[Triple J]] radio listeners.
Recently, The The have enjoyed a small surge of attention in the [[United States]] {{Fact|date=May 2008}} thanks to an [[M&M's]] advertising campaign, which has been using the band's song "This is the Day" as its theme music.
==History==
===Early years (1977-1982)===
In November 1977 Matt Johnson placed an [[advertising|advertisement]] in the [[NME]] 1977, asking for
'Bass/lead guitarist into [[The Velvet Underground|Velvets]]/[[Syd Barrett]]'. Johnson later placed a second advert in the NME, stating his new influences as
'[[The Residents]]/[[Throbbing Gristle]]'.
Finally, The The made their debut as a prototype electronic trio at London's Africa Centre
on 11 May 1979<ref>http://www.thethe.com/sections/library/gigography/gigography.html</ref>, third on the bill to [[Scritti Politti]] and [[PragVEC]], using backing tape tracks for the drums and bass. The band at this point consisted of Johnson on vocal and guitar, Keith Laws on synths, and guitarist Tom Johnston (no relation to Matt Johnson; they spell their surnames differently).
As The The was getting underway, Matt Johnson was simultaneously working with experimental synth-pop combo [[The Gadgets]], and would contribute to two albums this group released in 1980. As well, Johnson recorded two solo demo tapes in 1978/79, one of which (''See Without Being Seen'') was sold at gigs; the other (''Spirits'') is apparently unreleased in any form<ref>http://www.interzone23.com/thethe/albums.html</ref>.
[[Peter Ashworth]], then known as Triash, became The The's drummer in 1980, and the band issued a single ("Controversial Subject"/Black and White") on [[4AD Records]]. Johnston and Ashworth would then drop out of the band, although Ashworth (using his real name) would move onto a decades-long career as a photographer and designer for numerous bands -- amongst them, The The.
As a duo (Johnson and Laws), The The began playing shows with some of that era's most influential groups: [[Wire (band)|Wire]], [[Cabaret Voltaire (band)|Cabaret Voltaire]], DAF, [[This Heat]], [[The Birthday Party (band)|The Birthday Party]] and [[Scritti Politti]]. In 1981, Johnson issued a solo album on 4AD called ''[[Burning Blue Soul]]''; years later, it would be re-issued and credited to The The.
In September 1981, the duo inked a deal with [[Some Bizzare Records]], and released the 7" single "Cold Spell Ahead". Shortly thereafter, Laws was phased out and the only member of The The was Johnson.
===The Matt Johnson years (1983-1988)===
The band's next single was an early version of "Uncertain Smile" produced by [[Mike Thorne]]; it reached #68 UK. This version is very different from the perhaps now more-familiar album version, and features sax and flute by session player [[Crispin Cioe]] rather than (as on the album version) the piano of sessioneer [[Jools Holland]]. Former member Laws appeared on one b-side track of the 12".
In 1982, the intended debut album by The The (''[[The Pornography Of Despair]]'') was recorded, but was never officially released<ref>http://www.interzone23.com/thethe/albums.html</ref>. Johnson apparently ran off some cassette copies for friends, and several tracks have been re-recorded or issued as B-sides, but the album remains unissued, and (according to Johnson) is likely to remain so.
Instead, in 1983 The The released their official album debut, the synth-noir classic ''[[Soul Mining]]''. It featured the minor UK #71 hit "This Is The Day", as well as a new recording of "Uncertain Smile".
[[Image:The The - Sweet Bird Of Truth single picture cover.jpg|thumb|150px|Original UK 45 rpm single picture cover:''The The - Sweet Bird Of Truth''. Artwork by Andy Johnson.]]
During The The's more prolific period of releases, from ''Soul Mining'' (1983) to ''Dusk'' ([[1992 in music|1992]]), most artwork used on the albums and single releases was produced by Matt Johnson's brother [[Andy Dog Johnson|Andrew Johnson]]. The artwork has a distinctive style, and sometimes courted controversy, most notably the initial release of the 1986 single "Infected" which was withdrawn from sale and re-issued with an edited version of the cover art.
For the 1986 album ''Infected'', The The still only consisted of Johnson, augmented by session musicians. This album spawned four charting singles in the UK.
===Return to a full-fledged band (1989-2002)===
By 1989, The The was an actual band again, Johnson having recruited ex-[[The Smiths|Smiths]] guitarist [[Johnny Marr]], ex-[[Nick Lowe]] bassist [[James Eller]] and ex-[[ABC (band)|ABC]] drummer [[David Palmer (drummer)|David Palmer]] as full fledged members. This line-up recorded the album ''[[Mind Bomb]]'', which featured the band's highest charting single to that time, "The Beat(en) Generation", which peaked at #18 UK.
Adding keyboardist/guitarist [[D.C. Collard]] to the official line-up in 1989, the band embarked on a world tour in 1989/90, and issued the 1990 studio EP ''Shades of Blue''. This and a later EP of remixes, 1993's ''Dis-infected'', were compiled into a 1994 full length album for the North American market called ''Solitude''.
In 1993, the five-piece line-up issued the album ''[[Dusk (The The album)|Dusk]]'', which spun off three top forty singles in the UK, led by "Dogs of Lust". A world tour followed, at which point the band's line-up was reshuffled; Marr and Eller left, and were replaced by guitarist Keith Joyner and bassist Jared Nickerson, respectively. Also added was harmonica player Jim Fitting. Palmer bowed out partway through the tour and was replaced by new drummer Andy Kubiszewski <ref>http://www.thethe.com/sections/library/gigography/gigography.html</ref>.
The band's next project was 1995's ''[[Hanky Panky (The The album)|Hanky Panky]]'', an album that consisted entirely of [[Hank Williams]] cover tunes. ''Hanky Panky'' was recorded by a new group consisting of Johnson, Collard, Fitting, guitarist [[Eric Schermerhorn]], bass guitarist [[Gail Ann Dorsey]] (billed as "Hollywood" Dorsey), and drummer "Reverend" Brian MacLeod. Their cover version of "I Saw The Light" hit #31 UK.
A 1997 album called ''Gun Sluts'' was apparently recorded but left unreleased by the band after it was rejected by their label<ref>http://www.interzone23.com/thethe/albums.html</ref>. The band then ended their relationship with Sony, moving to [[Interscope]].
In 2000, The The, now conisisting of Johnson, Schermerhorn, bassist Spencer Campbell and drummer Earl Harvin, released ''[[NakedSelf]]'', the band's final new studio album to date. This same line-up also recorded two new tracks for the 2002 compilation ''[[45 RPM: The Singles of The The]]''.
In June 2002, The The made a single live appearance at the [[Meltdown Festival]] in London. At this point, the band consisted solely of Johnson, with guests [[J.G. Thirlwell]] on tapes and loops, and [[Benn Northover]] on film and video <ref>http://www.thethe.com/sections/library/gigography/gigography.html</ref>. This is the last live performance by The The to date; Johnson has stated on the official The The website that there are no plans for The The (or Matt Johnson) to appear live on stage again <ref>http://www.thethe.com/sections/library/interviews/qanda.html</ref>.
===Recent activities===
In May 2007, The The released a new download-only single on their website. Entitled "Mrs. Mac", the song was about Johnson's first day of school as a child. All instruments and vocals on the track were performed by Johnson.<ref>http://billboardpublicitywire.com/releases/2007/5/prweb529230.htm</ref>
A press release was issued along with the track, announcing a forthcoming The The album called ''The End of the Day'' with guest appearances by [[Elysian Fields (band)|Elysian Fields]], [[J.G. Thirlwell]], [[Thomas Leer]], [[Rob Ellis]], [[Anna Domino]], and others. <ref>http://billboardpublicitywire.com/releases/2007/5/prweb529230.htm</ref> To date, the album remains unreleased.
==Members==
===Offical members===
Matt Johnson is the only consistent member of The The. As well, from 1983-1988 (and again from 2002-present) he was the ''only'' official member of The The.
Official band members have been:
* [[Matt Johnson (singer)|Matt Johnson]] - vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, harmonica
* [[Keith Laws]] - keyboards (1979-1982)
* Tom Johnston - guitars (1979-1980)
* Triash (a.k.a. [[Peter Ashworth]]) - drums, percussion (1980)
* [[Johnny Marr]] - guitars and harmonica (1988–1994)
* [[James Eller]] - bass guitar (1988–1994)
* [[David Palmer (drummer)|David Palmer]] - drums (1988–1994)
* [[D.C. Collard]] - keyboards (1990–1997)
* [[Eric Schermerhorn]] - guitars (1995-2002)
* [[Gail Ann Dorsey|Gail Ann "Hollywood" Dorsey]] - bass (1994-1996)
* "Reverend" Brian MacLeod - drums (1994-1997)
* Jim Fitting - harmonica (1993-1995)
* Spencer Campbell - bass (1999-2002)
* [[Earl Harvin]] - drums (1999-2002)
===Collaborators===
The following musicians were not official members of The The, but made notable contributions to various recordings by the band.
* [[J. G. Thirlwell]] - Tapes, samples, percussion (1983–present) (see also [[Foetus (band)|Foetus]])
* [[Jools Holland]] - Piano (1983)
* [[Steve Hogarth]] - Piano (1986)
* [[Thomas Leer]] - Keyboards (1983)
* [[Sinéad O'Connor]] - vocals (1989)
* [[Neneh Cherry]] - vocals (1986)
* [[Anna Domino]] - vocals (1986)
* [[Keith Joyner]] - guitar, vocals
* [[Zeke Manyika]] - drums (see also [[Orange Juice]])
==Discography==
* ''See Without Being Seen'' (1978) (Lazarus - very limited cassette release)
* ''Spirits'' (1979) (Unreleased)
* ''[[Burning Blue Soul]]'' (1981) (originally credited to Matt Johnson - re-release as The The)
* ''[[The Pornography Of Despair]]'' (1982) (Unreleased)
* ''[[Soul Mining]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Infected (album)|Infected]]'' (1986)
* ''Heartland Five Track Special'' (1986)
* ''Sweet Bird of Truth'' (1987) (12")
* ''[[Mind Bomb]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Dusk (The The album)|Dusk]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Solitude (album)|Solitude]]'' (1993)
* ''Slow Emotion Replay'' (1993) (12")
* ''[[Hanky Panky (The The album)|Hanky Panky]]'' (1995)
* ''Gun Sluts'' (1997) (Unreleased)
* ''[[NakedSelf]]'' (2000)
* ''[[45 RPM: The Singles of The The|45 RPM]]'' (2002)
* ''London Town Box Set'' (2002)
* ''Silent Tongue'' (2002) (Unreleased, a compilation of The The’s film music.)
With ''NakedSelf'', the band moved from its previous label, [[Sony]], to [[Interscope]].
==Singles==
{| class="wikitable"
|rowspan="2"|'''Year'''
|rowspan="2"| '''Title'''
|colspan="2"| '''Chart positions'''
|rowspan="2"| '''Album'''
|-
|[[UK Singles Chart| UK]]
|USA [[Modern Rock Tracks chart|Modern Rock]]
|-
| 1980
| Controversial Subject
| -
| -
| -
|-
| 1981
| Cold Spell Ahead
| -
| -
| -
|-
| 1982
| Uncertain Smile
| # 68
| -
| ''Soul Mining''
|-
| 1983
| Perfect
| -
| -
| ''Soul Mining''
|-
| 1983
| This Is the Day
| # 71
| -
| ''Soul Mining''
|-
| 1986
| Heartland
| # 29
| -
| ''Infected''
|-
| 1986
| Infected
| # 48
| -
| ''Infected''
|-
| 1987
| Slow Train To Dawn
| # 64
| -
| ''Infected''
|-
| 1987
| Sweet Bird Of truth
| # 55
| -
| ''Infected''
|-
| 1989
| The Beat(en) Generation
| # 18
| # 13
| ''Mind Bomb''
|-
| 1989
| Gravitate to Me
| # 63
| # 15
| ''Mind Bomb''
|-
| 1989
| Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)
| # 70
| -
| ''Mind Bomb''
|-
| 1989
| Kingdom of Rain
| -
| # 16
| ''Mind Bomb''
|-
| 1990
| Jealous of Youth
| -
| # 7
| ''Solitude''
|-
| 1991
| Shades Of Blue EP
| # 54
| -
| -
|-
| 1993
| Dogs of Lust
| # 25
| -
| ''Dusk''
|-
| 1993
| Slow Emotion Replay
| # 35
| -
| ''Dusk''
|-
| 1993
| Love Is Stronger Than Death
| # 39
| -
| ''Dusk''
|-
| 1994
| Dis-Infected EP
| # 17
| -
| -
|-
| 1995
| [[I Saw the Light (Hank Williams song)|I Saw the Light]]
| # 31
| -
| ''Hanky Panky''
|-
| 1999
| Shrunken Man
| -
| -
| ''Naked Self''
|-
| 2007
| Mrs Mac
| -
| -
| ''TBA ''
|}
==External links==
* [http://www.thethe.com/ This is The The Day (Official Website)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/thethe The The MySpage Page]
* [http://www.ingsoc.com/thethe/ True Happiness This Way Lies]
* [http://www.interzone23.com/thethe/ The Ultimate The The Discography]
* [http://www.thethebootleg.co.uk/ TheThe Bootleg Discussion Forum]
* [http://regresandoacasa.blogspot.com/2006/10/the-pop-rock-blues-soul-y-mucha.html TheThe Regresando a Casa...]
{{DEFAULTSORT:The, The}}
[[Category:English musical groups]]
[[Category:New Wave groups]]
[[Category:1980s music groups]]
[[Category:1990s music groups]]
[[Category:2000s music groups]]
[[Category:4AD artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1979]]
[[ca:The The]]
[[de:The The]]
[[es:The The]]
[[fr:The The]]
[[it:The The]]
[[ja:ザ・ザ]]
[[no:The The]]
[[pl:The The]]
[[pt:The The]]
[[fi:The The]]
[[sv:The The]]