Formed in 1979, this UK band centres around the activities of singer-songwriter Matt Johnson (b. 15 August 1961, London, England). Initially, the unit included keyboardist Keith Laws and cartoonist Tom Johnston, but the line-up was continually changing and often featured Johnson alone. Following their debut at London's Africa Centre on 11 May 1979, The The's first single, "Controversial Subject", was issued by 4AD Records. Two years later, they signed with Stevo's Some Bizzare Records and released the excellent "Cold Spell Ahead". Since 4AD still had a one-record option, Johnson issued Burning Blue Soul for them under his own name. Manager Stevo found it difficult to license The The's material to a major label but eventually Phonogram Records invested £8,000 in "Uncertain Smile" (a retitled version of "Cold Spell Ahead'), produced in New York by Mike Thorne. It was an exceptionally impressive recording, but its impact was overshadowed by contractual machinations that saw Johnson move to another label, Epic Records. A projected album, The Pornography Of Despair, took longer to complete than expected and was vetoed by Johnson. The superb Soul Mining, one of 1983"s most critically acclaimed albums, eventually replaced it.
By now, Johnson was already known for his uncompromising attitude and lust for perfection. Three years passed before the release of Infected, but it was well worth the wait. The album served as a harrowing commentary on the sexual, spiritual, political and economic malaise of 80s Britain. The production was exemplary and emphasized Johnson's standing as one of the most important cult artists to emerge during the decade. Infected also spawned the first full-length video album and the UK hits "Heartland", "Infected", "Slow Train To Dawn" (featuring Neneh Cherry) and "Sweet Bird Of Truth".
In 1988, Johnson established a new version of The The featuring former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, bass player James Eller and drummer David Palmer (b. 29 May 1961, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, ex-ABC). A worldwide tour coincided with the release of Mind Bomb, which garnered the least promising reviews of Johnson's career. The work was bombastic in tone and filled with lyrical diatribes and anti-religious rants allied to distinctly unmelodic songs, although "The Beat(en) Generation' did provide Johnson with his first UK Top 20 hit. He retained the new band for 1993"s Dusk, a brutally honest examination of mortality that recovered some of the lost ground and reached number 2 in the UK charts. The following year's Disinfected EP was led by a re-recording of "This Is The Day' from Soul Mining. The bizarre Hanky Panky (1995) saw Johnson deliver 11 cover versions of Hank Williams" songs to coincide with the publication of a new biography on the subject.
After relocating to New York, Johnson left Epic after they rejected 1997's experimental Gun Sluts. He returned in early 2000 with the typically uncompromising Naked Self, released on Trent Reznor's Nothing imprint.
