Fans of The The in the U.S. and other parts of the world that aren’t the U.K. will get their chance to buy Matt Johnson and Co.’s first new single in 10 years Saturday as extra copies of the band’s much-coveted, and very sold-out, Record Store Day 7-inch go on sale online.
In an email to fans today, the band thanked those who snapped up all copies of the “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming” 7-inch during Record Store Day last weekend:
“The single sold out in a couple of hours and copies were changing hands on eBay for up to £200 the following day. This goes against the spirit of what was intended but obviously the fault also lies with us for not pressing up enough copies!”
The note goes on to reveal that “we did, however, hold back a few hundred copies” that will be put on sale at thethe.com beginning at 18:00 GMT Saturday — which is 2 p.m. Eastern and 11 a.m. Pacific in the U.S. Customers will be limited top purchasing one copy each.
UPDATE: Demand for the single was so high Saturday it crashed The The’s website, leading the band’s webhost to think the site was under attack. The band’s server was suspended “due to the massive traffic onslaught,” and the site is down until Sunday. See tweets posted below.
UPDATE #2: Site’s back up and the single is now for sale.
The new single — The The’s first since the download-only “Mrs. Mac” in 2007 — finds Johnson backed by several former bandmates, including Zeke Manyika on percussion and James Eller on bass — plus Smiths guitar legend Johnny Marr, who played on Mind Bomb and Dusk.
The song is about, and dedicated to, Johnson’s brother Andrew Johnson, aka Andy Dog, who designed much of The The’s artwork over the years, and who died in January 2016.
Despite upgrading the server before 18:00GMT there has been such a wave of demand that the site has crashed. Our web mechanic is on the case
— THE THE (@thethe) April 29, 2017
Thousands of people trying to access the site at once. Probably think its under attack. Site hosts are adding more and more resources.
— THE THE (@thethe) April 29, 2017
Teere are still plenty of copies of We Can’t Stop What’s Coming left. Everyone is having trouble logging in. Site thinks it is under attack
— THE THE (@thethe) April 29, 2017
BIZARRELY, THE HOSTS HAVE NOW SUSPENDED OUR SERVER DUE TO THE MASSIVE TRAFFIC ONSLAUGHT. SITE DOWN UNTIL TOMORROW. OUR SINCERE APOLOGIES.
— THE THE (@thethe) April 29, 2017
THE SHOP IS BACK ONLINE https://t.co/bbYXpDYwIf pic.twitter.com/6h0isoema0
— THE THE (@thethe) April 29, 2017
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Listen: The The, ‘We Can’t Stop What’s Coming’ — first new single in 10 years
- ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: The The’s Matt Johnson earns an MTV disclaimer while hosting in 1986
- The The re-enlists Johnny Marr on first new single in 10 years for Record Store Day
- Matt Johnson recording first proper The The album in 15 years: ‘A new start for my career’
I tried to purchase this record for two hours yesterday when the server crashed and then I gave up, only to find out that they went on sale shortly thereafter and were immediately sold out. This is extremely disappointing. If anyone has an extra that they would like to sell, please let me know. I am not going to pay $50.00 or more for it on Ebay.