The The review, Royal Albert Hall, London: Matt Johnson's poetic polemic is as relevant as ever

Band are currently on their first tour in 16 years

(Getty Images)

★★★★☆

“You would think by now that people would know better than to ask me what I have been doing with my time,” says The The frontman Matt Johnson, reciting the words of the poet John Tottenham. “And you would think by now that I would have come up with an answer that would silence them”.

It’s been 16 years since The The last toured; the interregnum less a conscious withdrawal as a bewildered answer to voter apathy. As is often the case these days, absence has only made hearts grow fonder. The Royal Albert Hall is teeming, perhaps because Matt Johnson’s poetic polemic is suddenly au courant once again. The Tory government he railed against during the 1980’s has returned and redoubled its efforts in brutalising the underprivileged, meaning the words of this political sage and musical visionary are as relevant as ever.

"Sweet Bird of Truth" about war in the Middle East - released four years before Operation Desert Shield - brings the first real cheers of recognition. "Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)" with its prescient “Islam is rising, the Christians mobilising” line, is frenetic with a swagger that suggests these shows are more than just nostalgia.

"The Beat(en) Generation" is given some nocturnal swing treatment in keeping with last year’s Radio Cineola trilogy. The 24 songs played span from 1981’s "Bugle Boy" to last year’s "We Can’t Stop What’s Coming", none of it misplaced.

Meanwhile, three songs played together are about family lost; his mother and his brothers, Andy Dog and Eugene. And the show tonight and the tour is dedicated to his father, who died while the band were en route to Stockholm late last week: “Unless you die young,” he points out, “then you are bound to lose people”.

Despite this sombre shadow hanging over proceedings, The The sound very much like a band revitalised, and possibly one that intends to record new material. In the meantime, surprise highlights arise from the slightly overlooked 1993 album Dusk, with a rambunctious "Dogs of Lust" and a moving rendition of Johnson’s Fassbinder riposte "Lost Is Stronger Than Death".

The The may have arisen from the post-punk scene of Some Bizarre in the early years, but his velvety tonsils on the latter are more rock and soul than existential blues and oddly reminiscent of George Michael: Johnson may not have sung publicly for years, but there’s little doubt he’s been practising his scales in private.