The The
The The |
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The The is an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1978, with singer/songwriter/frontman 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 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 Australian Triple J radio listeners.
During The The's more prolific period of releases, from Soul Mining (1983) to Dusk (1992), most artwork used on the albums and single releases was produced by Matt Johnson's brother Andrew Johnson. The artwork has a distinctive style, and sometimes courted controversy, most notably the initial release of the single "Infected" which was withdrawn from sale and re-issued with an edited version of the cover art.
Recently, The The have enjoyed a small surge of attention in the United States thanks to an M&M's advertising campaign, which has been using the band's song "This is the Day" as its theme music.
Members
Current members
- Matt Johnson - vocals, bass guitar, harmonica
- Eric Schermerhorn - guitars
- Earl Harvin - drums
Past members
Note that from 1983-1988, and frequently thereafter, Matt Johnson was the only official member of The The. Other official members have included:
- Johnny Marr - guitars and harmonica (1988–1994) (see also The Smiths and Modest Mouse)
- Keith Laws - keyboards (1979-1982)
- James Eller - bass guitar (1988–1994)
- D.C. Collard - keyboards (1991–1997)
- Dave Palmer - drums (1988–1994) (see also ABC)
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 (1979–2006) (see also Foetus)
- Jools Holland - Piano (1982)
- Steve Hogarth - Piano (1986)
- Thomas Leer - Keyboards (1979–1983)
- Sinéad O'Connor - vocals (1988–1989)
- Neneh Cherry - vocals (1985–1986)
- Anna Domino - vocals (1985–1986)
- Gail Ann Dorsey - bass guitar (1994–1996)
- Jim Fitting - harmonica (1993-1995)
- Keith Joyner - guitar, vocals
- Zeke Manyika - Drums (see also Orange Juice)
- Peter Ashworth - Drums aka Triash
- Tim Johnson - bass guitar
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 (1986)
- Heartland Five Track Special(harbour lights,heartland,flesh&bones,born in the new s.a.,sweet bird of truth (1986)
- Sweet Bird of Truth 12" ( themes from "The nightwatchman","harbour lights","sleeping juice" (1987)
- Mind Bomb (1989)
- Dusk (1992)
- Solitude (1993)
- Slow Emotion Replay 12" RED VINYL(also spermicide,germicide,squirmicide versions of "Dogs of Lust")(1993)
- Hanky Panky (1995)
- Gun Sluts (1997) (Unreleased)
- NakedSelf (2000)
- 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
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
| UK | USA 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 | # 31 | - | Hanky Panky |
| 1999 | Shrunken Man | - | - | Naked Self |
| 2007 | Mrs Mac | - | - | TBA |