Matt Johnson is taking The The back out on the road next year for the first time since the band’s 2018 comeback tour, today announcing four concerts in the U.K.

The The’s Matt Johnson for years so disliked the video for the band’s iconic 1983 single “This Is the Day” that he insisted it be “withdrawn and banned from circulation.”

The death over the weekend of legendary record man Seymour Stein has unleashed a torrent of heartfelt appreciations from the musicians he championed.

The The will release its third new 7-inch single in six years this month, a song called “$1 One Vote” that Matt Johnson says has been “percolating” for years.

The The this week released a new remix of the live version of “Global Eyes” recorded at the Royal Albert Hall for The Comeback Special album and film.

This fall, The The will release The Comeback Special: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, a multiformat live album and Tim Pope-directed concert film documenting Matt Johnson’s reactivation of the band for a 2018 reunion tour, its first in 16 years. Check out the performance of “Sweet Bird of Truth” from the film.

Matt Johnson last weekend released a new 7-inch by The The for the first of three Record Store Day “drops,” a single called “I Want 2 B U” that calls to mind “This Is the Day” because Johnson wrote and recorded it with the “quirky Omnichord instrument” he used on that 1983 classic. Hear it right here.

Check out the latest installment right here — this week’s episode covers news about the major Record Store Day releases from The The, New Order, The Cure, Wire and The Pretenders, plus a countdown of the top 10 albums by U2 as voted by Strangeways Radio fans.

Matt Johnson this week announced he’ll release a new 7-inch by The The for Record Store Day next month, a single called “I WANT 2 B U” that finds the musician writing and recording with the “quirky Omnichord instrument” for the first time since he used in on 1983’s “This Is the Day.” Hear a short sample here.

Last month, Johnny Marr brought his old friend Matt Johnson onstage in London to perform a cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s 1966 single “Summer in the City” — their first time onstage together in 25 years. Turns out they also recorded a version of the song at soundcheck that night, and now have released it digitally.

Fans were thrilled to see Johnny Marr rejoin the The The fold for the band’s comeback single last year, but the ex-Smiths guitarist did not join Matt Johnson’s touring band for its first concert dates in 16 years this summer — presumably as he had his own album to promote. Tonight, though, they did perform together in London.

Just a week into his The The comeback tour, bandleader Matt Johnson was hit with devastating news today as he learned that his 86-year-old father, Edward Charles Johnson, had died, according to a statement posted to the band’s official Facebook page. Read the full statement here.

Matt Johnson debuted the 2018 incarnation of The The on Friday night, playing a 24-song, career-spanning set to open the first of three warm-up gigs for the highly anticipated Comeback Special tour — a show that marked The The’s first live performance in 16 years. See the full setlist right here.