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London, England (1979 – present)

The The is an alternative/new wave band formed in 1979 in London, England. Matt Johnson (vocals, multiple instruments) is the only constant band member. Releases are fairly few and far between but over the years The The has managed to sell several million albums internationally.

Johnson formed the first version of the band in 1979, with synth player Keith Laws. The group, after opening for Scritti Politti, issued its first single “Controversial Subject” on the 4AD label in 1980. One year later, it contributed a track to the Some Bizzare Records compilation album, Some Bizarre Album. In 1981 Johnson released Burning Blue Soul, which, despite the fact that it is technically a Matt Johnson solo album (and was released under his name) is often considered to be the first The The album. The album featured Johnson and various musicians from the British underground, including various members of Wire.

By 1982, The The had become Johnson’s solo project, with a revolving lineup of musicians. That year, the album The Pornography of Despair was recorded, but not released. In 1983, the band released its first real album Soul Mining, which featured the single “This Is the Day,” recorded with Orange Juice’s Zeke Manyika, pianist Jools Holland and cult legend Thomas Leer. The band’s next album, Infected, was a commentary on the state of modern urban life in Great Britain. The album was released in 1986, with Johnson joined by musicians like Neneh Cherry, Art of Noise’s Anne Dudley, Marillion’s Steve Hogarth, and SwansRoli Mosimann, among others. It was accompanied by an album-length video and spawned The The’s first UK hit single, “Heartland”.

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  • funkmetalDK

    I had forgotten, how much I likeThe The!!!!!!! [3]

    27 Mar 12:26pm Reply
  • lizardszmit

    BAKE AND DESTROY

    7 Feb 9:15pm Reply
  • not-mince-words

    yes

    7 Feb 6:24am Reply
  • KunstMachtSinn

    Music + texts = brilliant. That's the stuff of Matt Johnson.

    30 Jan 10:58am Reply
  • chocolatnoir23

    I had forgotten, how much I likeThe The!!!!!!! [2]

    24 Dec 2012 Reply
  • Susi_Bellamy

    I had forgotten, how much I likeThe The!!!!!!!

    13 Nov 2012 Reply
  • JordanRevill

    Listen to Matt Johnson every day

    23 Sep 2012 Reply
  • activewaste

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!! [7]. Eventually I did just type in http://www.last.fm/music/The+The . But now as I'm gonna listen to my old The The cd's again, I can find the page again via my charts

    22 Sep 2012 Reply
  • vonestef

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!! [5] Well I found it via "Love is strong than death" one of the greatest songs!

    15 Sep 2012 Reply
  • Ginger_Xanadu

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!! [5] Well, I could just type http://www.last.fm/music/The+The in the address bar, but I got it too late.

    9 Sep 2012 Reply
  • Cortexiphan_

    Dood I luv dis

    6 Sep 2012 Reply
  • SFlannigan

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!! [4]

    2 Sep 2012 Reply
  • Imaginarie

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!! [3]

    1 Sep 2012 Reply
  • Akatian

    How could anyone know me, when I don't even know myself?

    12 Aug 2012 Reply
  • SnapperStan

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!! [2]

    8 Aug 2012 Reply
  • CDPETE01

    The the one of those bands I knew of but never really got to hear,until now,see they were right up my street and had to get hold of some CDs,all at next to nothing.and boy they are good .

    24 Jul 2012 Reply
  • owlies

    'twas an epic journey just to get to this page!!!

    20 Jul 2012 Reply
  • UnfortunatelyGr

    In keeping with the last.fm policy of inexplicably omitting the 'The' from band names, this band really ought to be known as just '...'.

    23 May 2012 Reply
  • ninexhelix

    Saw them in Dallas, TX in 93 or so...incredible show, the performance has stuck with me all these years and set a high bar for standard of excellence in my enjoyment of live music. Johnson is an amazing talent.

    7 May 2012 Reply
  • HumbertoGillan

    What a Name, LOL!!!

    3 May 2012 Reply
  • All 292 shouts

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