THE TRIFFIDS

In 1976 in Perth, high school students David McComb on acoustic and bass guitars and vocals and Alan "Alsy" MacDonald on drums and vocals, formed Dalsy as a multimedia project, making music, books and photographs. They wrote and performed songs with Phil Kakulas on guitars and vocals (all three later in the Blackeyed Susans), then soon became Blök Musik and Logic (for a day). In May 1978, they became the Triffids, taking their name from the post-apocalyptic novel by John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids. They were soon joined by Andrew McGowan on guitar and Julian Douglas-Smith on piano. When Byron Sinclair joined on bass guitar in September, McComb switched to rhythm guitar. The Triffids began partly in response to the punk rock movement. 

Between 1978 and 1981, McComb wrote over 100 original songs and the Triffids had recorded and independently released six cassette tapes, simply called, '1st' (1978), '2nd' (1978), '3rd' (1979), '4th' (1979), 'Tape 5' (1980) and 'Sixth' (1981). By 1979, Kakulas and Sinclair had left and were replaced by David's older brother, Robert McComb on violin and guitar, and Will Akers on bass guitar, and in 1980 Margaret Gillard joined on keyboards. At year's end, the band won a song competition run by the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University) Student Guild's radio show on 6NR (now Curtin FM), and in July 1981 they released their first single, "Stand Up / Farmers Never Visit Nightclubs", on the Shake Some Action label. 

April saw the release of 'Reverie', a four-track EP on Resonant Records. The lineup was David McComb, Robert McComb, Will Akers, Margaret Gillard and Alsy McDonald. Gillard and Akers left in February 1982 and were replaced by Jill Yates on keyboards and a returning Sinclair. Around this time, due to the small population/market in Perth, the band started the long journey driving from Perth to Sydney, then Melbourne (and back again) to play shows, do some recording and to live for large periods of time, often in quite squalid conditions. 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.

They signed to Mushroom Records' White Label in Melbourne and released a single in October 1982, "Spanish Blue / Twisted Brain", with the lineup of the McComb brothers, Jill Yates, Byron Sinclair and Alsy McDonald. Sinclair left again, and Martyn P. Casey joined the band on bass guitar and Yates also moved on. Now a four piece they recorded the 'Bad Timing and Other Stories' EP in March 1983. By then, back in Sydney again, Jill Birt had joined on piano, organ and vocals. Soon after the release of 'Bad Timing and Other Stories', Mushroom Records let the band go. They signed with new Australian independent label Hot Records, which brought the independent scene some much needed cohesion. The Triffids were one of the bands leading Hot's drive into overseas markets, which partly led to the label's demise. 

The Triffids' debut album, 'Treeless Plain', released in November 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 and was cowritten by David McComb with Sydney musician James Paterson (JFK & the Cuban Crisis). Another track, "St. James Infirmary" is a traditional blues folksong, with their version preferred by Australian rock music journalist Toby Creswell in his book, 1001 Songs.

The Triffids, without Birt, recorded 'Lawson Square Infirmary' at the Sydney Opera House, where they worked with Paterson on vocals, guitar, mandolin and piano; Graham Lee (John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong) and in Eric Bogle's backing band) 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. 

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. 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. With little savings and five return plane tickets due to expire by Christmas, they gave themselves three months to make inroads in the UK. 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, which predicted it would be 'The Year of The Triffids'.

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. 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, Graeme Lee, who had performed on the mini-album 'Lawson Square Infirmary'. 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, 'Born Sandy Devotional' was recorded in London in August 1985 with Gil Norton producing (who has also worked with Echo & the Bunnymen), and was released in March 1986. According to Ian McFarlane, Australian rock music historian, "It was full of some of the most lonely, spacious songs ever written, and it remains one of the best Australian albums of the 1980s." In 2007, the album was featured by SBS Television on the Great Australian Albums series. The band issued two versions of the "Wide Open Road" single—both a 7" and a 12" version. 'Born Sandy Devotional' reached # 27 on the UK albums chart, and "Wide Open Road" peaked at #26 on the UK singles charts but only reached #64 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Creswell stated that "Wide Open Road" was "an angry song that finds the cost of freedom is aloneness" in his book, 1001 Songs. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named it one of their Top 30 Australian songs of all time.

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, 600 km (370 mi) south east of Perth, in a shearing shed on basic eight-track equipment. It was issued in January 1987 and took The Triffids deeper into folk and country music, with a lo-fi sensibility reminiscent of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes. The band backed Scottish musician Bill Drummond for his 1986 solo album 'The Man'. The Triffids toured UK later in the year.

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. Jimmy Barnes and INXS headlined, and the rest of the line-up featured Mental As Anything, Divinyls, Models, the Saints, and I'm Talking. A concert film, Australian Made: The Movie, was directed by Richard Lowenstein and released later that year. 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. 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. 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. It provided the singles "Bury Me Deep in Love" in October 1987 and "Trick of the Light" in January 1988.

After 'Born Sandy Devotional', they graduated to the festival circuit and played alongside Iggy Pop, the Ramones, the Fall, Anthrax and Echo & the Bunnymen. By 1988, their fame was such that NME invited them to contribute a cover version of the Beatles' song "Good Morning Good Morning" to a tribute album, 'Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father', 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:

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. David McComb died at home, on 2 February 1999, a few days short of his 37th birthday. 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.

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.

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.

Members

David McComb (vocals, guitar, piano, bass), Jill Birt (keyboards, vocals), Martyn Casey (bass),Simon Cromack (perc ussion), Margaret Gillard (keyboards), Phil Kakulas (guitar), Graham Lee (guitar, pedal steel, lap-steel, vocals), Allan MacDonald (drums), Robert McComb (violins, guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals), Mark Peters (drums), Byron Sinclair (bass), Jill Yates (keyboards), Andrew McGowan (guitar), Julian Douglas-Smith (piano)

SINGLES
''Stand Up / Farmers Never Visit Nightclubs'' 1981 Shake Some Action / WAIT Student Guild 
''Spanish Blue / Twisted Brain'' 1982 White Label 
''Beautiful Waste / Property Is Condemned'' 1984 Hot 
''Wide Open Road (#64) / Time Of Weakness'' 1986 White Hot 
''Bury Me Deep In Love (#48) / Baby Can I Walk You Home'' 1987 White Hot 
''A Trick Of The Light (#77) / Love The Fever'' 1987 White Hot 
''Falling Over You / Can't Help Falling In Love'' 1989 White Label 
''Goodbye Little Boy (#81) / Go Home Eddie'' 1989 White Hot 

EPs

'Reverie' 1981 Resonant
'Bad Tining And Other Stories' 1983 White Label

'Lawson Square Infirmary' 1984 Hot

'Raining Pleasure' (#95) 1984 Hot

'The Triffids' 1985 Hot

ALBUMS
'Treeless Plain' 1983 Hot 
'Born Sandy Devotional' (#37) 1986 White Hot 
'In the Pines' (#69) 1986 White Hot 
'Calenture' (#32) 1987 White Hot
'The Black Swan' (#59) 1989 White Hot

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triffids

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/