David McComb (1962-1999) was the songwriter and frontman for The Triffids, who remain one of Australia's best-loved post-punk bands. The Triffids formed from the remnants of other Perth groups in 1978. Following the lead of bands such as The Saints, The Birthday Party and The Go-Betweens, they left Australia in the early 1980s to live in the UK, where they had already formed a cult following. They performed and recorded in Australia and England until they split in 1989, when McComb formed a studio band, The Red Ponies, with Martyn Casey from The Bad Seeds. The rock critic Ian McFarlane has said that few songwriters have managed to capture the feeling of isolation and fatalistic sense of the Australian countryside better than McComb. McComb's health was poor for many years, and he died following a minor car accident at the age of 37.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
© Bleddyn Butcher
Bleddyn@Tenderprey.com
Bleddyn Butcher (5 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Dave Graney and Clare Moore discuss music, photography and bandoleros of meat.
Over the last five years the National Portrait Gallery has developed a collection of portrait photographs that reflects both the strength and diversity of Australian achievement as well as the talents of our photographers.
