The Triffids
The Triffids | |
---|---|
Also known as | Lawson Square Infirmary |
Origin | Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
Genres | Indie rock, alternative rock, folk rock, country |
Years active | 1978–1989 |
Labels | Hot, Rough Trade, Island, Mushroom |
Past members | see members list below |
Website | Official website |
The Triffids were an
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."[1]
History
Formation and early years (1976–1981)
In 1976 in
On the night of 27 November 1976, a tape was made by Alsy MacDonald, playing a single toy drum, and Dave McComb playing acoustic guitar. The multimedia group 'Dalsy' had come into being. Dalsy went on to make several remarkable tapes (mainly of original material): The Loft Tapes, Rock 'n' Roll Accountancy, Live at Ding Dongs, Bored Kids, Domestic Cosmos, People Are Strange Dalsy Are Stranger, Steve's and the seminal punk work, Pale Horse Have a Fit ... Dalsy did paintings, sculptures and poetry, and wrote a book named "Lunch". They were tinny and quirky, obsessive and manic, versatile and productive. They were also immensely unpopular ... The members of Dalsy grew to hate their audience. They still do, and this hate is an integral part of their music. Dalsy split up towards the end of 1977 ... They launched into 1978 as Blok Musik, with their famous Blok Musik tape ... In April, they played at the Leederville Town Hall Punk Fest, alongside Perth's punk rock contingent but, as usual, no one danced. After that they went home and metamorphosised into Logic. Within a day they changed their minds, and metamorphosised into the Triffids.[8]
Between 1978 and 1981, McComb wrote over 100 original songs and the Triffids had recorded and independently released six
Early recordings (1982–1984)
Gillard and Akers left in February 1982 and were replaced by Jill Yates on keyboards and a returning Sinclair..
As a four-piece — Casey, David and Robert McComb and MacDonald — they signed to
The Triffids, without Birt, recorded
I taught primary school, travelled and ended up in Sydney, where I met the Triffids and first sat behind a pedal steel (in that order actually) [...] I met Dave [McComb] through James Paterson, who played in a band in Sydney called JFK and the Cuban Crisis. My initial impressions of Dave were: slightly eccentric, driven, something of a perfectionist, very intelligent.
By mid-1984, The Triffids had spent so much time travelling the 3,972 km (2,468 mi) between Perth in the west and Sydney on the east coast of Australia — David McComb estimated that they made this trip between 12 and 16 times — that they decided to travel that little bit further and headed to Europe.
UK and Europe (1984–1989)
In late August 1984, the band relocated to London, where Treeless Plain and Raining Pleasure had been issued by Rough Trade Records to critical acclaim.[1][17] With little savings and five return plane tickets due to expire by Christmas, they gave themselves three months to make inroads in the UK.[17] For their London debut they supported Rough Trade labelmates The Monochrome Set. Success was confirmed when they graced the January 1985 cover of the influential UK magazine NME,[9][11] which predicted it would be 'The Year of The Triffids'.[17]
In November 1984, they recorded Field of Glass, a three track 12" EP. Performed mostly live in BBC Studio 5 in London, it was released in February 1985.[1][17] The title track, "Field of Glass", was not released on CD as the master tape could not be found—it was eventually discovered under David McComb's bed. In early 1985, the band acquired their final permanent member, Lee, who had performed on the mini-album Lawson Square Infirmary.[1] Together the six-piece—Birt, Casey, Lee, MacDonald, David & Robert McComb—recorded a 12" EP You Don’t Miss Your Water. The A-side is a countrified version of William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water", which was released in August by Hot Records, but by then they were already back in London.
During 1985, the Triffids toured Europe, they were praised by the European press and played stadiums supporting Echo & the Bunnymen. A grass roots following developed as they toured western European countries, finding pockets of popularity in the Netherlands, Greece, Scandinavia, Ireland and Belgium. The band toured as part of the Summer Eurofestival circuit, performing at Glastonbury, Pinkpop, Waterpop, Seinäjoki, Roskilde (40,000), T&W Belgium (35,000) and den Haag's Parkpop (pushing 100,000).
Unable to raise a major record deal and with low finances,
Their critical success in the UK boosted their profile back in Australia where they recorded
From 26 December 1986 to 26 January 1987, the Triffids were on the bill of the Australian Made tour, which was the largest touring festival of Australian music talent attempted to that point.[1] Jimmy Barnes and INXS headlined, and the rest of the line-up featured Mental As Anything, Divinyls, Models, the Saints, and I'm Talking.[1][9] A concert film, Australian Made: The Movie, was directed by Richard Lowenstein and released later that year.[23][24] The lead singer of INXS, Michael Hutchence, had insisted on the Triffids being part of the bill.[25] 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.[9] Between April and August 1987, the band worked again with Norton, to record Calenture, their Island Records debut. The album, released in February 1988, saw them explore themes of insanity, deception and rootlessness—the title refers to a fever suffered by sailors during long hot voyages.[26] 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.[1][26] It provided the singles "Bury Me Deep in Love" in October 1987 and "Trick of the Light" in January 1988.[1][17]
After Born Sandy Devotional, they graduated to the
.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.[28] 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:
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
The band's last Australian shows were towards the end of 1989, with the final at the
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
In 1990, David McComb moved back to London with the aim of pursuing his solo career. Since sustaining crushed vertebrae in the UK in 1986 McComb had suffered chronic and severe back pain that plagued him till his death. In 1992, after no success, he returned to Australia to make some solo recordings for
Following the Red Ponies tour David McComb suffered substance abuse-related health problems, which ultimately resulted in him undergoing a
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."[citation needed]
2006 onwards
The Triffids back catalogue began being reissued in 2006.
David McComb was
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."[33] 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.[34] 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.[35][36] 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".[37]
The Triffids repeated their 2008 Sydney performances, 'A Secret in the Shape of a Song', at the
Honours
ARIA Awards
The
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | The Triffids | ARIA Hall of Fame | inductee |
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The West Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | The Triffids | Hall of Fame | inductee |
Legacy
One of the most critically acclaimed bands from Greece, Raining Pleasure, took their name from the song "Raining Pleasure" by The Triffids.[44] Melbourne-based acoustic rock group The Paradise Motel are frequently likened to the work of The Triffids whose work they have covered.[45][46][47]
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.[48] 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.[49] In December 2020, The Triffids were listed at number 43 in Rolling Stone Australia's "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.[50]
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
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)) (ISBN 0-7333-0115-0)
- ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the originalon 5 April 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2009. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop by Noel McGrath (Rigby Publishers (1978))
- Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. ISBN 1-86503-891-1.[51]
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry for "The Triffids". Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d Nimmervoll, Ed. "The Triffids". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd (Ed Nimmervoll). Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Spencer et al, (2007) 'Triffids, The' entry.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Australian Rock Database entries:
- The Triffids: Holmgren, Magnus; Skjefte, Morten; Warnqvist, Stefan; Simonetti, Vince. "The Triffids". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 28 July 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- The Blackeyed Susans: Holmgren, Magnus; Skjefte, Morten. "The Blackeyed Susans". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 12 February 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- Four Hours Sleep: Holmgren, Magnus. "Four Hours Sleep". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 25 May 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- John Kennedy Holmgren, Magnus. "John Kennedy". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- Lawson Square Infirmary: Holmgren, Magnus; Simonetti, Vince. "Lawson Square Infirmary". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 25 February 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- Graham Lee: Holmgren, Magnus. "Graham Lee". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 9 January 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- David McComb: Holmgren, Magnus; Skjefte, Morten; Nichols, David; Simonetti, Vince; Paterson, James. "David McComb". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 9 January 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ a b "MIPCOM Press Release". Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). 8 October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ "The 100 Best Australian Albums | triple j". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ Spencer et al, (2007) 'Blackeyed Susans, The' entry.
- ^ "Diary 1 - Dave McComb and the Triffids - dedicated to the memory of David McComb and the great Australian band of the eighties". Thetriffids.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 1-900924-96-X.
- ^ "Timeline (1983)". Long Way to the Top. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74066-458-5.
- ^ Treeless Plain (Media notes). The Triffids. Sydney, NSW: Hot Records. 1983.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the originalon 8 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ a b Spencer et al, (2007) 'JFK and the Cuban' entry.
- ^ Spencer et al, (2007) 'Lee, Graham' entry.
- ^ a b Spencer et al, (2007) 'Lawson Square Infirmary' entry.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Houghton, Mick. "A Brief History of The Triffids". Domino Recording Company. Retrieved 26 December 2009. Note: Houghton was The Triffids' publicist during 1984–1989.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own chartsin mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- ^ "APRA/AMCOS 2001 Top 30 Songs". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ^ Kruger, Debbie (2 May 2001). "The songs that resonate through the years" (PDF). Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ^ "Timeline (1986)". Long Way to the Top. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- Allmovie. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- Internet Movie Database(IMDb). Retrieved 5 June 2008.
- ^ Dwyer, Michael (17 June 2006). "Living like a refugee". The Age. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
- ^ a b John Clarkson (1 July 2007). "Triffids : In the Pines/Calenture". Penny Black Music. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ "The Triffids cover songs". The Covers Project. 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Casimir, Jon (17 May 1989). "The Black Swan". Rock Australia Magazine (RAM). Soundtracks Publishing Pty Ltd.
- ^ Colin Delaney (9 August 2007). "Interview with The Triffids". TNT Travel Down Under. TNT Magazine. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the originalon 3 August 2004. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "The Triffids - Save what you can". Thetriffids.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "WAM Hall of Fame". WAMi. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
- ^ Jazz Times Travel – Fred Mills (September 2006) Archived 10 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2008 Sydney Festival line-up". Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
- ^ Zuel, Bernard (20 December 2007). "The Triffids: A Secret in the Shape of a Song". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
- ^ Hill, Graham (21 January 2008). "Live Review: The Triffids 'A Secret in the Shape of a Song'". ABC Radio. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
- ^ "The Triffids latest news". Liberation Music. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
- ^ Dwyer, Michael (23 January 2009). "Replay of the Triffids". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ^ Collins, Simon (6 November 2008). "Think inside the box" (PDF). West Australian. Retrieved 9 December 2008. [dead link]
- Perth International Arts Festival. Archived from the originalon 11 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Cashmere, Paul (5 June 2008). "Max Merritt and The Triffids To Be Inducted into Hall of Fame". undercover.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ Donovan, Patrick (5 June 2008). "Hall of Fame for Merritt and Triffids". The Age. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ Collins, Simon (5 June 2008). "Decades on, Triffids to have their day". West Australian. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
- ^ Eptakili, Yiouli (10 February 2004). "Band's experimental intentions". Kathimerini. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
- ^ "The Paradise Motel – Australian Ghost Story in Releases: Mess+Noise". Messandnoise.com. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ [1] Archived 8 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ lEIGh5 (27 May 2010). "Digging A Hole: The Paradise Motel: Australian Ghost Story (album review)". Guestlisted.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Niall Lucy and Chris Coughran, eds, Vagabond Holes: David McComb and the Triffids Archived 28 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine (Fremantle: Fremantle Press, 2009).
- ^ "Treadwater Press homepage". Treadwaterpress.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ 50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time – #43: The Triffids. Alex Cameron, Rolling Stone Australia, 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
External links
- Official website
- ABC – Long Way to the Top – The Triffids
- Something Old, Something New website – Triffids profile
- Domino Records – Triffids profile
- Howlspace website – Triffids profile Archived 27 July 2012 at pandora.nla.gov.au (Error: unknown archive URL)
- Domino re-release program
- Inner City Sound website – Triffids profile
- Nostalgia Central website – Triffids profile
- David McComb obituary (1962–1999)
- The Triffids discography at MusicBrainz