Long Shadows, High Hopes: The Life and Times of Matt Johnson & The The

by Neil Fraser

Matt Johnson – founder, songwriter and visionary lynchpin of iconic band The The – created some of the most vital music of his era, be it the intense visual feast of Infected or the prescient politics of Mind Bomb. Then he walked away from it all.

In this authorised biography, with free access to the The The archives, Neil Fraser draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with Johnson and his contemporaries and colleagues, including Johnny Marr, Johanna St Michaels, JG Thirlwell and Tim Pope. From the early days in the East End to glory days on a global stage, through Johnson’s retreat from public life and return with The The in 2017, this updated edition addresses the 2018 Comeback Special Tour and beyond.

Long Shadows, High Hopes examines the enigma that is Matt Johnson – outspoken political lyricist but intensely private man – and what prompted him to step out of the shadows after so long.

Genres: Music, Biography

488 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2018

Reviews

[Mark Beech · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a Fanboy

Interesting read, though I think the author fell into the trap of being a fanboy and not as balanced with his views in this biography. A positive however is it got me listening to the other ‘The The’ albums as I had only listened to Soul Mining which is one of my Top 10 albums and Infected.

[Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best bit was Matt's earlier life.... a good read but a bit ploddy at times, and the writing clunky here and there.

[Jon Zellweger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good (auto)biography will always offer you new perspectives on a person or their creative output. I’m not a completist. While my high-water mark of Julian Cope’s autobiography Head On / Repossesd has yet to be outdone, I really enjoyed reading Fraser’s account of Matt Johnson’s career. Everyone really needs to know Johnson. Who can simultaneously attack geopolitics, capitalism and the soul so well (Who even is a legitimate protest musician these days?….that doesn’t fall for the trappings of folksy, ’60s revival, nostalgia, that is) ? Johnson is an autodidact (left school at age 15) and managed to develop a rich, complex style of songwriting that was ahead of its times technically/structurally and thematically. Learning about all the characters he has intersected with in his career (Some Bizarre founder Stevo, Wire, Jim Thirwell, Johnny Marr, Tom Waits) made things make even more sense and enriched my listening experience ten-fold. Approaching the albums on their own terms (knowing the context of their interests and the available technology) will never disappoint the listener. There’s not a bad album in the bunch. My personal favorite is split: Mind Bomb, because that was my gateway into The The’s music. But Soul Mining seriously does some damage. :)

[Jon Chaisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and unique music biography that provides a sense of humanity and reality to one of alternative rock's best (and most elusive) songwriters. While it does touch upon Johnson's music career, it's also a story focusing on the relationships with his family, friends and significant others. In the process, it provides a much deeper understanding to Johnson's music and career.

[Aris Tsoumis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've known of Matt Johnson and The The since the late 80's and The Beat(en) Generation album. I feel though that only this year I truly discover Matt Johnson by deep-diving into their discography, by seeing them live for the first time and by reading this very good, very detailed biography by Neil Fraser.

[Espen Nikolaisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography about Matt Johnson

This is an excellent biography about Matt Johnson aka the English band “The The”. While it is clearly written by a person who adores the man, unlike other music biographies this seems to get close to the artist and actually humanises him.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting biography of the often enigmatic Matt Johnson. If you are a fan of The The it is great reading and information. If you are interested in the music business it offers some behind the scenes insights and tales about the good old days of the 80s and some warnings.

[Sticks Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and very insightful.

[Michel Drolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love that book, everything you want to know about Matt Johnson and The The is there!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography of a hugely underrated singer/songwriter.

[Rgrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much a perfect book on a musician, great detail in the making of the music, his personal life and the times around him.

[Dirk Flach · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, as a fan and a (kind of) fellow musician, very interesting, but it seems to be it could’ve been a little shorter.

[Nightswimming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love The The, I am a longtime fan. This is a must read, even the stiff parts. We are lucky to have this insight in Matt Johnson’s life and thoughts. I’d love to read more about him.

[Michael Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

One reviewer called it 'ploddy' at times. I tend to agree. It's under 500 pages but feels more like 2,000. Matt Johnson is one of my favourite musicians of all time so I had to take a stab at this. I think I would much rather prefer an autobiography but that is unlikely to happen. It would be better to hear from the man himself as to what he was feeling and thinking rather than reading about the author's own conclusions about how the political climate might have influenced a particular album or another. I guess I'm just not into the writing style here.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a long time The The fan and was part excited, part scared of this book. I find most rock bios not very good. They often written by fawning fans and the subject can do no wrong.

This is straight up and presents Johnson, warts and all. It’s engaging and lively, but with depth. It’s probably the best rock bio I’ve read.

[Bowdoin]

Reader from the group– The band "The The" is performing live for the first time in 16 years. So I snapped up some tickets and went to look for my old CDs of theirs in the basement (remember those shiny round things? I couldn't find mine, so I am listening on an iPad). Going through their catalogue - primarily "Soul Mining", "Infected", and "Mind Bomb." I am struck with how the despair these artists felt in the Thatcher/Reagan era intertwined with both an aching longing and a sense of hope. And, how so many of those sentiments resonate once again in 2018. Top that off with some beautiful melodies (just take a listen to the simple riff that goes through "Uncertain Smile," "Soul Mining" it's gorgeous - first on guitar, and then piano) and you have a recipe for something that speaks to me. Are these issues cyclical, or do those songs still ring true because the concerns over inequity, social justice, authority, and personal liberties have moved back to the fore?  Did they ever really go away?

Probably not coincidentally, the book Long Shadows, High Hopes: The Life and Times of Matt Johnson & The The by Neil Fraser has just been released.  It chronicles the background of the central figure behind The The.  From an interesting childhood in the still WWII scarred East End of London with pub-owning parents, to the present.  I am just getting into it - and really enjoying.  I have a soft spot for behind-the-scenes books about music from when I was growing up.  Books about bands that were on my stereo and in the periphery of my real life make me feel like I lived in the thick of it, and give me a perspective on how these artists were translating the zeitgeist into meaningful art.   Touchstones, for me, in this genre are books like  Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991  by Michael Azerrad,  Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk  by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, and See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody  by Bob Mould.