The The is a British musical and multimedia group that has been around since 1979 in various forms, with Matt Johnson being 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 post-punk underground, including various members of Wire.

By 1982, The The had become Johnson’s solo project, ... read more »