David McComb

Though best known for his role as singer/songwriter with The Triffids, David McComb also forged a solo career during the nineties. The first hint of this came late in 1988 when he recorded the single ‘I Don’t Need You’ with Adam Peters, who worked with McComb and his band mates on three of their last four albums. During the four-month break between the mixing and release of what eventually proved to be the final Triffids album, McComb also founded The Blackeyed Susans.

Intended as a holiday band and with a fluid line-up, the Susans played a few gigs in Perth and recorded a four-track EP before the members returned to their ‘day’ bands. This original incarnation of the Susans included musicians from Martha’s Vineyard and Chad’s Tree, and many had connections back to the early days of The Triffids.

Later in 1989, when The Triffids took a break after the tour promoting The Black Swan, McComb returned to London and stayed for the next two years. His intentions were to extricate himself and The Triffids from their contract with Island and to launch a solo career. Neither project went particularly well, but a second Blackeyed Susans EP was recorded while some members of the band were in London in 1990. (The two Susans EPs, together with a third on which McComb didn’t appear, were released as the ‘Welcome Stranger’ album in 1992.) There was also a second McComb single, ‘The Message’, recorded with Stephen Street and released in 1991.

After returning to Melbourne, McComb continued to work on his solo material and rejoined the Blackeyed Susans for their second album, ‘All Souls Alive’ (1993). His contributions as writer, singer or guitarist can be found on all but two tracks. The album also features Warren Ellis (violin, organs, accordion) and Jim White (drums) – two thirds of the Dirty Three. The Blackeyed Susans went on to record another four albums and still play occasional gigs.

McComb’s only solo album, ‘Love Of Will’, often regarded as his most important work since ‘Born Sandy Devotional’, was recorded during the Australian winter of 1993; three of the other five Triffids play on it. After the glossy production of ‘Calenture’ and the eclectic experimentalism of ‘The Black Swan’, ‘Love Of Will’ took a more band-oriented approach (despite its status as a solo album) and featured some of McComb’s best songs. Two more singles were also released.

Following a European tour with the Red Ponies to promote the album in 1994, McComb headed to New York but became seriously ill. An organ donor was found on his return to Australia, and he underwent a heart transplant in 1996. Though McComb never fully recovered his health, he took a degree in Art History and worked as a critic for Triple J (a national radio station, focusing on independent music and youth culture) and for the Australian edition of Rolling Stone. In 1998 he formed a new band, costar, but his continuing health problems meant the band could only play in Melbourne. David McComb died on 2 February 1999, a few days short of his 37th birthday.

McComb was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame in February 2006. The albums that he recorded with The Triffids are currently being re-released by Domino (reviews can be found elsewhere on Gigwise). There are no known plans for the re-release of ‘Love Of Will’ but it is hoped that the six tracks he recorded with costar will be given a limited release early in 2007.

Discography:
‘Welcome Stranger’, August 1992 (with The Blackeyed Susans)
‘All Souls Alive’, December 1993 (with The Blackeyed Susans)
‘Love Of Will’, March 1994 (solo album)