The Triffids - WikiHQ

The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 1978, with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved some success in Australia, but greater success in the UK and Scandinavia in the 1980s before disbanding in 1989. and in 2010 it ranked 5th in the book The 100 Best Australian Albums by Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell.

According to music historian Ian McFarlane, "The Triffids remain one of Australia's best-loved, post-punk groups ... McComb ... infused his melancholy songs with stark yet beautiful and uniquely Australian imagery. Few songwriters managed to capture the feeling of isolation and fatalistic sense of despair of the Australian countryside." then soon became Blök Musik</blockquote>

Between 1978 and 1981, McComb wrote over 100 original songs and the Triffids had recorded and independently released six cassette tapes, For $150 a night, The Triffids' services as a support act were procured by The Reels, The Sunnyboys, The Church, Hunters & Collectors or Uncanny X-Men.

As a four-piece — Casey, David and Robert McComb and MacDonald — they signed to Mushroom Records' White Label in Melbourne and released a single, "Spanish Blue", in October 1982 and the Bad Timing and Other Stories EP in March 1983. was critically acclaimed  — described as a "magnificent, muscular piece of work that pounds out simple powerful rock songs — one of the best indie rock albums of its day" — but no singles were released from it. All tracks for Treeless Plain were recorded over twelve midnight-to-dawn sessions at Emerald City Studios, Sydney, in August and September 1983 with The Triffids producing. Their next single, "Beautiful Waste", appeared in February 1984 and was followed by the Raining Pleasure 12" EP in July—the title track, "Raining Pleasure", featured Birt on lead vocals Another track, "St. James Infirmary", is a traditional blues folksong, on vocals, dobro and pedal steel guitar; and Daubney Carshott (a.k.a. Martyn Casey) on bass guitar. The six-track country music-style EP was issued by Hot Records in October under the band name, Lawson Square Infirmary. With little savings and five return plane tickets due to expire by Christmas, they gave themselves three months to make inroads in the UK. Creswell stated that "Wide Open Road" was "an angry song that finds the cost of freedom is aloneness" in his book, 1001 Songs.

Their critical success in the UK boosted their profile back in Australia where they recorded In the Pines in early 1986, while awaiting the release of Born Sandy Devotional, which eventuated in March. In The Pines was recorded at the McCombs' family property in Ravensthorpe, south east of Perth, in a shearing shed on basic eight-track equipment. The lead singer of INXS, Michael Hutchence, had insisted on the Triffids being part of the bill. 1987 also saw the release of three tracks recorded for John Peel on 5 May 1985, The Peel Sessions.

The Triffids were courted by several UK major record labels, based on the success of Born Sandy Devotional, eventually signing a three-record contract with Island Records in the UK in November 1986. The Triffids were nomadic, travelling back and forth from Australia to England to record the 'difficult' album—initial recordings with US producer Craig Leon were abandoned—and obviously related to the disoriented sailors. alongside songs by Billy Bragg and Wet Wet Wet.

The Triffids wanted to record the next album in Australia, but after the Calenture experience Island wanted to keep the band nearby. The Black Swan was recorded between September and October 1988 in Somerset, UK, and produced and engineered by Stephen Street. It was well received by critics, but was not a commercial success, which disappointed band members. That, together with being tired from the constant travelling and touring, led to The Triffids being dissolved. The group travelled to the US in 1989 for a pair of New York dates before taking a much-needed vacation – one which turned permanent:

<blockquote>We didn't know they were final performances. Dave wanted to do a solo album and we were due to get back together after that. Much to his chagrin his solo album took longer than expected and he kept writing songs that sounded like Triffids songs. Domesticity snuck up on most of us, poor health snuck up on Dave, a planned '94 reunion tour was put on hold, and the Triffids faded into the mist. – Graham Lee </blockquote>

The band's last Australian shows were towards the end of 1989, with the final at the Australian National University in Canberra on 14 August 1989. 1990 saw the release of the live album, Stockholm, which completed their contractual obligations with Island.

Breakup and aftermath

Following the breakup of the band, Alsy MacDonald, Jill Birt and Robert McComb took "proper jobs" as a lawyer (currently with the Equal Opportunity Commission), architect and teacher respectively, with MacDonald and Birt marrying (Robert McComb currently teaches at Melbourne High School). David McComb and Lee continued to be involved with The Blackeyed Susans, a group David McComb formed as a side band during an earlier Triffids' summer tour of Australia. Another project, costar, was formed when David moved to Melbourne, but due to his ill health they only played sporadically around Melbourne, although recordings had begun and a single was ready for a limited release.

Following the Red Ponies tour David McComb suffered substance abuse-related health problems, which ultimately resulted in him undergoing a heart transplant in 1996. Despite the exacerbation of his back problem from the transplant procedure he embarked on a university course and his prolific output of songs continued. He recorded

7 demos at the studio of Julian Wu, a long time supporter with old friends Martin Casey, Mick Harvey, Warren Ellis, Kiernan Box and Stuart Solar on drums. Forming 'costar' with Graham Lee, Kiernan Box on piano, Stuart Soler on drums Will Akers on bass and Matt Habbin on saxophone. Ill health limited live performances but writing, arranging and other literary projects continued at a furious pace. Following a car accident in Melbourne, he was admitted to St Vincent's hospital. Three days later he died at home, on 2 February 1999, a few days short of his 37th birthday.

In February 2000, after the State Coroner of Victoria published his findings, The West Australian newspaper wrote: "[Coroner] Johnstone said McComb's mental and physical condition had deteriorated after his (car) accident but his death was due to heroin toxicity and mild acute rejection of his 1996 heart transplant."

2006 onwards

The Triffids back catalogue began being reissued in 2006. Graham Lee has taken on the role of guardian of David McComb's musical legacy. The Domino label in the UK is handling the reissues in Europe, while Liberation Music deals with Australia and New Zealand. An extended version of fan favourite Born Sandy Devotional came first, with staggered release dates in Europe, Australasia and North America between June and July 2006. A joint release of In the Pines and Calenture followed in February 2007. In the Pines was given a full remix by Bruce Callaway, the original engineer, who had been looking after the master tapes for 20 years. The album was also extended with a number of tracks that were recorded during the sessions for In The Pines but held over for inclusion on Calenture because, in David McComb's words, "we have to keep something good for later." (In The Pines was essentially a low-budget 'holiday' album, recorded while the band was still looking for a deal with one of the major labels.) Calenture was extended with B-sides from the same period, and with a second disc of demo recordings for the album. A re-release of the last Triffids album The Black Swan with an extra disc of rarities and demos have, so far, ended the reissue programme. In 2010 the best-of album Come Ride With Me... Wide Open Road was released. A limited edition of this, called Come Ride With Me... Wide Open Road – The Deluxe Edition, contained nine discs of bonus material, including early demos, tracks previously available on cassette only and full-length live recordings. Later stages of the re-issue programme is said to include further rarities, extended liner notes, remastering, a DVD and a live album. There is, currently, a selection of free downloads available on the official site, overseen by Lee.

David McComb was posthumously inducted into the WAM (West Australian Music Industry Association) Hall of Fame as a composer on 21 February 2006.

In June 2006, in conjunction with the re-issue of Born Sandy Devotional, the band re-formed to play three live performances, two concerts in Hasselt, Belgium, and one in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with guest vocalists (including Mark Snarski (The Jackson Code) and Belgian Harald Vanherf (The Hoodoo Club / Wicona Airbag) replacing David McComb. A huge collection of band memorabilia was also displayed, along with the airing of a Triffids concert film and question-and-answer sessions with the band members. According to Lee the experience was, "more than I could have hoped for – a true celebration of the music, and an intensity from band and audience that I've rarely felt."

The five remaining members of The Triffids gave a series of performances on 17–20 January 2008, as part of the 2008 Sydney Festival celebrating the music and the memory of David McComb. The band were joined on stage by a number of Australian musicians including Mark and Rob Snarski (The Blackeyed Susans), Toby Martin (Youth Group), Steve Kilbey (The Church), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), J.P. Shilo, Chris Abrahams (The Necks) and Melanie Oxley. Youth Group in fact opened these shows with 4 covers of Early Triffids classics and rarities in praise of band's earlier years. A feature-length documentary of these shows, It's Raining Pleasure, was to be released in early 2009.

In May 2008, Liberation Music continued with the reissuing of The Triffids' back catalogue, with the release of The Black Swan, which includes five songs which had previously been left off the album at the time of its initial release, together with an encore. The album had originally been envisaged by David McComb as a double album. The re-released album also included a bonus disc of demos and unreleased material. Also released was Treeless Plain which was re-mixed by the original sound engineer, Nick Mansbridge. The last of the re-releases was a collection of songs from various EPs, Raining Pleasure, Lawson Square Infirmary and Field of Glass, under the title Beautiful Waste and Other Songs (Mini-Masterpieces 1983–1985). The compilation album also includes the title song, "Beautiful Waste", together with "Dear Miss Lonelyhearts" and "Native Bride".

The Triffids repeated their 2008 Sydney performances, 'A Secret in the Shape of a Song', at the Arts Centre Melbourne on 29 January 2009 and at the Perth International Arts Festival on 20–22 February 2009. The shows included guest appearances by Mick Harvey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), J.P. Shilo, Melanie Oxley, Mark and Rob Snarski (The Blackeyed Susans), Steve Kilbey (The Church), Alex Archer and Brendon Humphries (The Kill Devil Hills), Ricky Maymi (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), and Toby Martin (Youth Group) on stage with the remaining members of the band. After the Perth performances video artists VJzoo showed a selection of David McComb's personal photographs live on screen to a soundtrack compiled from his mixtape collection. 'The Triffids and Friends' is a loose collective of some of the aforementioned musicians with remaining Triffids members. Youth Group once again reprised their renditions of early Triffids songs at these shows. Performances by the band along with The Church and Ed Keupper were scheduled for late 2011 in Perth.

Honours

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. In 2008, The Triffids were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Upon the announcement Graham Lee commented that David McComb would find the accolade ironic, given that the band were hardly superstars in their home country, but would have appreciated the belated recognition.

| 2008 || The Triffids || ARIA Hall of Fame ||

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The West Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985.

| 2016 || The Triffids || Hall of Fame ||

Legacy

One of the most critically acclaimed bands from Greece, Raining Pleasure, took their name from the song "Raining Pleasure" by The Triffids. Melbourne-based acoustic rock group The Paradise Motel are frequently likened to the work of The Triffids whose work they have covered.

In 2009, Australian scholars Chris Coughran and Niall Lucy's rock biography on The Triffids, Vagabond Holes: David McComb and the Triffids, was published by Fremantle Press, and includes contributions by Mick Harvey, Nick Cave, John Kinsella, DBC Pierre and Judith Lucy. Bleddyn Butcher's biography of David McComb, Save What You Can: The Day of The Triffids, was published by Treadwater Press, Sydney, in November 2011. In December 2020, The Triffids were listed at number 43 in Rolling Stone Australias "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.

Members

Will Akers – bass (1980–1982)
Jill Birt – keyboards, vocals (1983–1989)
Martyn Casey – bass (1982–1989)
Simon Cromack – percussion (1982–1983)
Margaret Gillard – keyboards (1979–1982)
Phil Kakulas – guitar, vocals (1978–1979)
Graham Lee – guitar, pedal steel, lap-steel, vocals (1985–1989)
Allan MacDonald – drums, percussion, vocals (1978–1980, 1982–1989)
David McComb – vocals, guitar, piano, bass (1978–1989; died 1999)
Robert McComb – violins, guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals (1979–1989)
Mark Peters – drums (1980–1981)
Byron Sinclair – bass (1978–1979, 1982)
Jill Yates – keyboards (1982)

Timeline

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Discography

Studio albums

Treeless Plain (1983)
Born Sandy Devotional (1986)
In the Pines (1986)
Calenture (1987)
The Black Swan (1989)

References

;General

Your Name's on the Door by Tracee Hutchison (ABC Enterprises (1992)) ()
Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop by Noel McGrath (Rigby Publishers (1978))

;Specific