Matthew Johnson (born 15 August 1961) is an English singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and only constant member of his band

The The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...

. He is also a film soundtrack composer (Cinéola), publisher (Fifty First State Press), broadcaster (Radio Cineola), conservationist, and local activist.

Early life

Johnson grew up with his three brothers, Eugene,

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

(the artist Andy Dog Johnson), and Gerard, in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. Much of his youth was spent in or around the Two Puddings, a London pub run by his family over the course of 40 years.

Music career

In 1979, Johnson placed an advert in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' looking for like-minded fans of

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

the Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vid ...

and

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of in ...

to form a band with him. The The began as a duo, then a four-piece, then a singular entity with a rotating cast of musicians that has included

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

, Gail Ann Dorsey, Simon Fisher Turner,

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

, and David Palmer of ABC. "I like to think of The The as a fluid thing", Johnson said in a 1993 ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' interview. "People can work with me, then stop for a bit, then work again." In 1981, Johnson released the studio album '' Burning Blue Soul'' on

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

under his own name (since re-released under the name the The), still regarded by some as a much overlooked masterpiece. In 1982,

Marc and the Mambas Marc and the Mambas was a new wave group, formed by Marc Almond in 1982 as an offshoot project from Soft Cell. The band's line-up changed frequently, and included Matt Johnson from and Annie Hogan, with whom Almond worked later in his solo ...

released their debut studio album called '' Untitled'' and Johnson was part of the ensemble put together by

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...

. By 1983 Johnson and

Keith Laws Keith R. Laws is a British academic who serves as professor of neuropsychology at the School of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Laws' research centres on how cognitive functions and processes relate to brain structure and functio ...

the artists signed to

Some Bizzare Records Some Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of '' Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrik ...

that place the record with CBS Records to distribute Some Bizzare released The The's debut studio album '' Soul Mining'' now distributed by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. By 1986, Some Bizzare produced and released their second studio album '' Infected'', which reached number 14 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and remained in the chart for 30 weeks, making it the band's most commercially successful album to date. ''Infected: The Movie'' was the screen accompaniment to the album. The The went on to release further albums through Sony Music including '' Mind Bomb'' (1989), ''

Dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enoug ...

'' (1993), '' Hanky Panky'' (1995), '' NakedSelf'' (2000) and compilation album '' 45 RPM: The Singles of The The'' (2002). Johnson's younger brother Eugene died in 1989. The impact of this death on Matt Johnson and his creativity is a subject of the 2017 documentary ''The Inertia Variations'', directed by Johanna St Michaels, which focuses on the life of Matt Johnson and the team who surround him. The film is named after an original collection of poetry by John Tottenham, and was later shortlisted for the 'Best Q Film' award in '' Q'' magazine's 'Q' Awards. Despite not releasing any new music as The The over the course of 15 years prior to 2017, Johnson worked as founder and broadcaster of Radio Cinéola, and also heavily collaborated with his brother Gerard, composing the full soundtrack for two of Gerard's films; '' Tony'' (2009) and ''

Hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

'' (2014). To coincide with the 2017 release of ''The Inertia Variations'', Johnson collaborated with Johnny Marr again and released The The's first single in over 15 years – "We Can't Stop What's Coming" under his own record label Cinéola. Johnson dedicated this track to his late brother Andy Dog Johnson who died in 2016. As well as a new single, Johnson released the ''Radio Cinéola Trilogy''

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

on vinyl and CD format. In October 2017, The The also announced a comeback series of dates in June 2018 and will be playing live at three venues in London, UK including the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. The The appeared as a headline act at Festival N°6 in 2018. In November 2017, Johnson announced that he was hoping to form a new band and release new music by 2018.

2018 comeback

In June 2018, The The kicked off the first three London dates of the tour, which was expanded in-flight to accommodate not only North America but also four Australian dates in both Sydney and Melbourne. The original line-up for the tour was: * Matt Johnson – vocals, guitar * Barrie "Little Barrie" Cadogan – lead guitar * James Eller – bass *

Earl Harvin Earl Harvin is an American drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist who has lived in Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles and is now residing in Berlin, Germany. Harvin studied at the University of North Texas College of MusicEnsoulment.html" ...

– drums, percussion * D C Collard – keyboards During the course of the tour the line-up was changed slightly only twice; due to prior commitments

was replaced for the Australian leg of the tour by Geoff Dugmore.

2024

In 2024, The The released their critically acclaimed album, ''Ensoulment''.

References

External links