DAVID MCCOMB - LOVE OF WILL
David McComb is best known as the singer of
The Triffids, unquestionably one of the greatest rock bands of all time and one which released quite a few albums over the course of their fourteen year existence. As a solo artist, however, McComb recorded just one solo record, which is the subject of this week’s
One Album Wonders.
David McComb was born 17 February, 1962 in
Perth,
Australia to
Dr. Harold McComb (a plastic surgeon) and
Dr. Athel Hockey (a geneticist). The McComb family resided in the
Cliffe, an historic home on
McNeil Street in the posh neighborhood of
Peppermint Grove. David and his four older brothers all attended
Christ Church Grammar School in nearby
Claremont. Nevertheless, McComb would emerge as one of Australia's greatest poetic voices.
McComb began making music with
Alan “Alsy” MacDonald in 1976, who was the primary songwriting partner throughout what proved to be his too short life. The two first collaborated as part of the collective known as
Dalsy, then as
Blök Music, and followed by
Logic, which after just one performance in 1978 changed their name to
The Triffids. Despite their having released some of the best music of the
1980s and
NME having gone so far as to proclaim 1985,
“The Year of the Triffids,” they were never commercially successful. After one of their most musically adventurous but commercially less successful albums,
The Black Swan, The Triffids called it a day in 1989.
McComb’s post-Triffids years were less prolific, in large part because of his difficulties with drug addiction and associated illnesses. After the dissolution of the Triffids, McComb and MacDonald formed
Blackeyed Susans with former Triffid
Phil Kakulas,
Ross Bolleter, and
Rob Snarski and that band released an EP,
Some Births are Worse than Murders in 1990. McComb returned to
London, where The Triffids had been based for several years, in 1990, and the following year he and
Adam Peters contributed a cover of
“Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On” to the
Leonard Cohen tribute album
I'm Your Fan and also released a proper single,
“I Don't Need You.” McComb next formed a backing band,
The Red Ponies, comprised of former Triffid
“Evil” Graham Lee,
Warren Ellis,
Peter Luscombe,
Bruce Haymes, and
Michael Vidale. Backed by his new band, McComb toured
Europe and released
the dancey single
“The Message” on
Stephen Street’s
Foundation label, which folded in 1991. In 1992 McComb returned to Australia to study art history at
The University of Melbourne… and occasionally performed with Blackeyed Susans.
From June to August 1993, McComb recorded what would prove to be his only solo ablum,
Love of Will, with a band comprised of former Triffid
Martyn Casey and Phil Kakulas on bass; Peter Luscombe on drums;
Barry Palmer and “Evil” Graham Lee on guitar; Bruce Haymes and
Daniel Denholm on keyboards; and Warren Ellis on violin. Backing vocals were sung by
Joanne Alach,
Lisa Miller, and Rob Snarski.
Love of Will was released in December 1993 on
White Label and promo videos were filmed for "Setting You Free" and "Clear Out My Mind" -- both of which were released as singles and the latter of which was (according to McComb) inspired by
Geto Boys' “My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me.” A few months after the recording of
Love of Will, McComb sang back-up on
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’
Let Love In and his own band’s Martyn Casey and Warren Ellis both ended up joining Cave’s. Palmer went on to join
Hunters & Collectors; Lee performed with
Paul Kelly,
Robert Forster, and other musicians; and Luscombe, Haymes, and Denholm also went on to play with numerous musicians.
McComb launched one last band,
Costar, who recorded a still unreleased EP. A planned Triffids reunion in 1994 was put on hold when McComb’s health worsened and McComb developed cardiomyopathy. Although he underwent a successful heart transplant in 1996, his continued abuse of drugs did his health no favors and after being involved in a car crash on 30 January, 1996, he was hospitalized for a night, released, and then died on 2 February, a few weeks shy of his 37th birthday. His ashes were spread under the pines at the family’s farm near
Jerdacuttup.
Predictably, since McComb’s death The Triffids’ stature has grown and they’ve inspired a documentary (about the masterpiece
Born Sandy Devotional), tribute concerts, and
Bleddyn Butcher’s book,
Save What You Can - the Day of the Triffids. Additionally, a book of McComb’s poetry was released a few years ago as
Beautiful Waste. A crowd-funded documentary titled
Love in Bright Landscapes: The Story of David McComb of The Triffids seems still to be in production (or pre-production), directed by
Jonathan Alley. Most encouraging is the fact that every proper studio album by The Triffids has been re-released and are therefore relatively easy to enjoy. On the other hand, McComb's
Love of Will has unduly suffered over the intervening years since its release from its relative obscurity. Shortly after its initial release it received a second pressing by
Mushroom in early 1994 but soon after went out of print and remains so to this day. It was only produced on
audio cassette and
compact disc but if you find a copy, do snag it. In the meantime, you can
listen to it online if you wish.
Weather, releasing on May 5th, 2017. The whimsical and multicolored group has yet again brought their honest expertise to the table. Yet, the band twists expectations by fusing pop and semi-political messages into their mind-bending songwriting. Produced by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, POND’s glam and glitzy rock tendencies are now fully embraced in The Weather, with touches of a younger POND’s jammy and experimental artistry.
