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The The: formed in London, UK, 1979 by Matt Johnson (born Aug. 15, 1961 in London). Over the years several members have been included in The The but Johnson is the only founder and consistent member behind the name. Band members: Matt Johnson (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Keith Laws (keyboards, 1979-81), Steve Sherlock (saxophone, 1979-81), Tom Johnston (bass, 1980), 'Triash' Peter Ashworth (drums, 1980), Simon Turner (guitar, vocals, 1981), Colin Lloyd Tucker (guitar, vocals, 1981), Johnny Marr (guitar, harmonica, 1988-94), James Eller (bass, 1988-94), Dave Palmer (drums, 1988-94), D.C. Collard (keyboards, 1991-97), Keith Joyner (guitar, backing vocals, 1993-94), Jared Nickerson (bass, 1993-94), Gail Ann 'Hollywood' Dorsey (bass, 1994-96), Eric Schermerhorn (guitar, 1995-2002), Brian MacLeod (drums, 1995-97). Most of these members are more or less handpicked musicians that Matt has worked with on different occasions. In the years from 1988-94 The The consisted of a quartet that has been the most stable band featuring Matt Johnson, Johnny Marr (of The Smiths), James Eller, and Dave Palmer. Johnson released his solo debut album
Burning Blue Soul in 1981 under his own name, however, in '93 it was re-issued as a release by The The, apparently, suggested by Johnson himself, so that all his album releases could be found under the band name. His older brother Andrew (aka Andy Dog) has made the cover art for several of the releases (singles, eps, studio albums). They are easy to point out as they are all painted in a very unique way with heavy use of colors, thick strokes, and a cartoonist expressionist style. Stylistically, The The has released music which covers many styles and genres but the main styles are neo-psychedelic rock and experimental pop / rock inspired by old school art rock and psychedelic rock artists like The Velvet Underground and Syd Barrett (of Pink Floyd), and more contemporary artists like The Residents and Throbbing Gristle. From the first releases Matt Johnson / The The has progressed towards more mainstream pop / rock releases of pop soul and blues rock elements but since the successful
Dusk in '93, Johnson has experimented with his music, e.g. releasing the country homage to Hank Williams
Hanky Panky in '95, the experimental and neo-psychedelic art rock release
NakedSelf in 2000 (his latest studio album to date). Since then, he has withdrawn from the public eye and concentrated on studio projects for art installations, soundtrack albums for feature movies and documentaries, founded his own label Cinéola [also hosting podcast series with Johnson as host], and he has expanded his musical styles with ambient and minimalism.
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