problem with the_date()

hi all,
I’m trying to create a timestamp (using the the_date() function), here is the code:
$day = the_date(‘jS’,”,”,0);
$month = the_date(‘m’,”,”,0);
$monthname = the_date(‘F’,”,”,0);
$year = the_date(‘Y’,”,”,0);
$timestamp = “$day $monthname, $year”;
for some reason its not working…its only outputting $day and $month.
Any ideas would be great!
Cheers
Darren