Some hard to get Triffids related audio files. These are rarities - demos or live tracks, of variable sound quality, and unavailable elsewhere.

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MP3

• Fairytale Love (4.72 MB)

Acoustic demo
Here's a solo acoustic demo done by Dave of the song Fairytale Love. I don't think this has appeared anywhere else. Some slightly different lyrics and, as ever, the final version is lyrically better than this almost there one.


• Jeremy Joy (3.16 MB)

From Tape 4
I ended up using an earlier version of Jeremy Joy on the 10CD set because it had a certain life to it even though it was quite rough around the edges. You couldn't call this version slick, nor could you accuse it of lacking life. "Don't call us, we'll call you, in fact we'll just ignore you..." It cracks me up every time.


• The Day Of My Ascension (5.86 MB)

17th Feb 2011
The final episode in this flurry of birthday wishes - Day Of My Ascension in demo form. This was recorded in 1992 on an 8 track machine at Dave's place in Vere St, Collingwood. Dave, Phil, me and Rob Snarski. I think this is an amazing version of this song.


• Hanging Shed (5.13 MB)

From the same Seaview Ballroom show Hanging Shed. Not sure why this song never re-appeared in set lists in latter days. I would love to have played it.


• Field Of Glass (12.73 MB)

This version of FOG, recorded live at the same Seaview Ballroom show is yet another interesting insight into the evolution of this little ditty. Not quite as revealing as I had first thought though...it's from 1985 not 1984 as I had first thought (dummy..)


• Hell Of A Summer (7.24 MB)

Hell Of A Summer from Hultsfred Festival in Sweden, 1986. A turning point for us as far as recognition in Scandinavia goes.


• No Fun (3.98 MB)

Recorded in 1985 at The Seaview Ballroom by David Patterson from the audience, here's a song that I'm told Jill sang from time to time. This version is Dave however.


• Too Hot To Move (4.9 MB)

From Swedish radio I believe, an acoustic version of Too Hot To Move (too hot to think). This is the first in a series of tracks I'm sending your way for the occasion of what would have been Dave's 49th birthday.


• Reverie (4.9 MB)

Reverie taken from a 1982 show at Players in Paddington Green, sydney. It's a little rough and ready on the audio side but brings me a smile.


• Raining Pleasure (5.3 MB)

Here's a preliminary master of Raining Pleasure from the Saturday night show in Hasselt, recorded by Shaun Hoffmann.There are a couple of minor glitches and we weren't quite together at the start but this is a very good example of why Jill is such a great singer of Dave's songs.


• I Want To Conquer You (9 MB)

Here's a preliminary master of I Want To Conquer You from the Saturday night show in Hasselt, recorded by Shaun Hoffmann. Guitars - G. Lee, M. Harvey, R. McComb, drums - Alsy, bass - Marty, violin - Warren Ellis, piano - Chris Abrahams, vocal - Melanie Oxley, backing vocals - Mick, Rob Snarski. It's always such a powerful experience to play this song and I really like this version. Warren's stuff in the big instrumental passage is stunning, couldn't hear that properly when we actually played. Enjoy. Many thanks to Shaun for getting it all together.


• Field Of Glass (12.75MB)

From a show at the London School Of Economics on October 13th 1984. The show starts out uneventfully before an apparently quite small crowd who have mostly never seen the band before. It gathers a huge head of steam as they realise this is no ordinary band and Dave seems to be loving it and giving his all. Field Of Glass was the second to last song. The bit from the first breakdown on is stunning and you can hear that they're still knocking it into shape. How Dave could still have any voice left after this kind of performance is beyond me.


• Get Into The Groove (6.02MB)

I would hope this track would prove as controversial here as it apparently was in Greece in 1988.


• Satisfied Mind (4.82MB)

This song stuck around in various guises for quite a while. This is from 1983 live at Players nightclub in Sydney.


• A Trick Of The Light from the ICA (4.07MB)

Early and quite lively version of A Trick Of The Light. You have to imagine Marty wearing a dress as you listen to this. This was no optical illusion.


• An appearance on Neighbours (4.5MB)

Dave taped this from the telly. A tune dear to our hearts is interwoven in the masterful tapestry of a Neighbours script.


• In The Pines - Sydney Festival version (5.7MB)

From Saturday night's show...beautifully sung by Rob Snarski. Mark Dawson and Alsy are working together brilliantly on this one. This is from Saturday night's show, thanks to Steven Levett for the desk tape.


• New Years Greetings - karaoke version (7.99MB)

Here's the backing track from New Years Greetings. We did vocal-less versions presumably for the unlikely event that we were called upon to mime them on TV. Never happened, but feel free to sing along.

• Sydney Festival jukebox

I'm still adding tracks to this as I do them. If you missed it when announced elsewhere here is the Sydney Festival jukebox. Not in downloadable form (at least not easily done) because SF 08 own the rights to this desk tape. I've done a small amount of tarting up. Can't wait to hear a properly mixed version of some of these tracks.

• World's Smartest Man - unreleased demo (5.60MB)

From 1992 in collaboration with Stephen street. This track, along with plenty of others, will probably get released when Love Of Will finally surfaces. I haven't done too much in the mastering of it but it sounds pretty good. Also known as Pictures From Life's Other Side.

• Ocean Of You - Dave on vocals (4.72MB)

All good things come to those who wait. Julian found the DAT with this song sung by D Mc and here it is. Done with Stephen Street again I believe, in 1992. Expect fully scrubbed up version at some later date.

• Surfer Boy In Leather - from Cassette 5 (4.58MB)

A little rough on the audio quality but a thoroughly topnotch rip off of the Gilligan's Island theme from Cassette 5 - March 15th, 1980. On the side marked Less Abnormal Songs as opposed to....

• Go Home Eddie - solo demo (2.11MB)

A version of Go Home Eddie recorded solo into a cassette deck sometime in 1987 I guess. A request for James that I thought I might as well share with everyone.

• You Minus Me - demo with Phil Kakulas (2.43MB)

I've always liked this song. We recorded a version of it during the Black Swan sessions, late one night after returning from the pub. I played wonky banjo on that version. This is Dave and Phil Kakulas and was recorded in Perth.

• Lonesome Hobo - live from Player's in Paddington Green October '83 (2.18MB)

Lonesome Hobo, short version as it was played in October '83 just before the recording of Treeless Plain. It's a vicious sound but quite satisfying.

• Not The Marrying Kind - demo (1.98MB)

Demo of Not The Marrying Kind recorded at the McComb family home in Peppermint Grove sometime in '82. I think it's Dave's Mum acting as tape op.

• Spanish Blue - live from Player's in Paddington Green October '83 (1.90MB)

A live track from a very productive period, the band sounding tight as ever. Just before the recording of Treeless Plain but this track only ever appeared as a single, one of those in the promised boxed set that will be along shortly.

• Kelly's Blues - ITP version (4.52MB)

Here's the long promised version of Kelly's Blues from the In The Pines sessions that didn't make it onto the final release, either in 1986 or 2007. It's not a bad version at all, it just didn't seem to fit with the track listing on the re-issue as it doesn't really shed much as yet unseen light on the song.

• Old Ghostrider - live version (3.8MB)

From 1983 The Triffids on 2JJJ doing the as yet unrecorded Old Ghostrider. Dave also introduces the band and refuses to go along with the announcer's line of natter.

• Field Of Glass - early version (9.76MB)

Not sure of the date or venue but this is an early version of FOG, a very good example of Dave and the band wrestling to find the right arrangement for a song. It has an exciting last couple of minutes and the rest isn't too bad either.

• Lonely Stretch - Solo version (1.86MB)

Here's an early version of Lonely Stretch when it only had one chord. This is a good example of how some songs were brought to the band. Of course, in some other cases, there was much more than this already in place in Dave's fertile imagination.

• Butterfly - The Old Melbourne, 10/03/84 (4.07MB)

The Triffids said farewell to Perth and headed East, not for the first or last time and marked the occasion with a big show during which they dragged out some old favourites. This is a song Dave wrote at 16 years old and it's not really about a butterfly, or perhaps it is.

• In The Pines - Triple J studios, 14/03/94 (3.88MB)

The Red Ponies version of ITP from the live at the wireless session previously featured on this page.

• Jesus Calling - ICA, 25/04/87 (8.58MB)

A rocking version of Jesus Calling from the ICA in '87. I'd forgotten that we used to drag this one out in that era every so often.

• Stolen Property demo (9.85MB)

A Dave solo demo into a cassette recorder of Stolen Property. Some bits you'll be familiar with, others perhaps not so. This almost made it onto the BSD re-issue as a bonus.

• Nervous Side Of Town (2.73MB)

This is from Tape Five, a particularly good early Triffids cassette. March/April 1980 with a lineup of David McComb (guitar & vocals), Rob McComb (guitar & violin), Margaret Gillard (keyboards), Bryon Sinclair (bass), Alan MacDonald (drums & vocals). Enjoy.

• Too Hot To Move - 16/02/06 (5.24MB)

Trying out a microphone (Behringer B-1 if you're interested) plugged into my shitty laptop I recorded Too Hot To Move with one voice and three acoustic guitars. Very exclusive, a bit rough, but the microphone passed the audition. You might hear the odd truck thundering past my place.

• Pale Blue Eyes - Town And Country, 30/10/87 (4.83MB)

If there's a better version of this song anywhere I'd like to hear it. Adam Peters joining us on cello.

• Night Life - Shenton Park Hotel, 25/1/85 (5.07MB)

Dave was a Willie Nelson fan well before it was cool and here's a striking version of the Willie classic, Night Life. This is a song Willie is said to have sold for $50 before it became a monstrous hit for Ray Price. He had to be content with a few bucks as opposed to a few cadillacs.

• Lonely Avenue (3.98MB)
• Can't Stand It (4.69MB)
• Raining Pleasure (4.23MB)
• Everything Fixed Is Killed (11.74MB)

On 14/03/94 The Red Ponies (Dave McComb, Warren Ellis, Graham Lee, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe and Michael Vidale) played a live session for Triple J radio. When the official tracks were done we cajoled Chris Thompson the engineer/producer into letting us play some more songs for the hell of it what with a Euro tour coming up soon. Here are three tracks from that session. I'd completely forgotten about this stuff until I found it on a cassette yesterday. Listening to it made me wonder what might have happened had Dave stayed healthy and kept this band together.
I think Warren turned up late because of other commitments as he only seems to be on Raining Pleasure. Actually, on second thoughts he must have had to leave early as this was a bit of a late one.
The version(s) of Everything Fixed Is Killed are presented here as an example of an early working version of a song that later appeared in a dramatic and more complete incarnation done by costar. There are two versions, the first one falls away after a promising start and we do another straight away that's much better as a whole. We (the Red Ponies) never did this song in live performance as far as I recall. It sounds like I had been listening to Robert Quine.

• Field Of Glass - Barrowlands, 20th October 1984 (12.06MB)

In which The Triffids take on a rabid Bunnymen crowd with their killer punch. Not sure that the crowd is impressed but Dave certainly gives his all. What would the band have seemed to be to a Bunnymen crowd at that time? How could this fail to impress? It's a bit large.

• Lanallu (4.17MB)

From 1982, this is a song obviously recorded at home, as evidenced by Dave's Mum hitting the record button. Features some lyrics Dave used again, much, much later.

• The Long Fidelity (5.19MB)

Recorded in 1984, this demo is taken from a London portastudio recording from November, '84. What a song, especially when you hear it in this very raw form and out of its normal context as the closer of BSD. Taken from the Jack Brabham cassette only release (if you can call 50 cassettes a release).

• Kiss Him (he's history) (6.2MB)

This is costar live at the Cherry Tree Hotel. Someone requested this song recently on the forums so here it is - badly recorded but you might be able to get the drift. There's a Stolen Propertyish ending that was actually quite dramatic on a good night. Yet another of Dave's songs inspired by 60s girl-groups.

• Lullaby (1.88MB)

A demo done at Dave's place in about 1993. On a cassette 8 track machine with Dave, Phil Kakulas and me. This was a B side on Clear Out My Mind single.

• Spanish Blue (1.91MB)

This is from Dungeon Tape and probably is familiar to quite a few of you. I've cleaned it up a bit.

• Somewhere In The Shadows (2.35MB)

From Tape Six I believe. It sounds very like Jill singing with Dave but is Margaret Gillard if I'm not mistaken. Dave liked this song well enough to put it on a compilation cassette he called Early Triffids Songs For Teens And Tycoons.

• Spinning Top Song (4.1MB)

A demo of Spinning Top Song recorded in Perth in 1988. A little low tech perhaps but you get the idea.

• Foggy Notion (4.9MB)

Foggy Notion - the Red Ponies in Amsterdam, 28th April 1994.

• Why Don't You Leave For Good This Time (1.8MB)

This is how Goodbye Little Boy started life. Just Dave and acoustic guitar with an early version of the song before he decided to tailor it for Jill.

• Devil Please 2.66MB

Another of the front room demos, this one is a song written by Dave with Paul Kelly.

• This Whole World's About To Slide(1) 2.45MB
• This Whole World's About To Slide(2 - better mix twice the size) 4.92MB

A demo recorded on my trusty reel to reel 4 track in 1997 or 8 I'm thinking. Just stumbled across it and painstakingly dragged it from its crusty analog coocoon onto my laptop for a bit of a scrub up. The tape had deteriorated slightly but it's ok for a rough mix. Phil Kakulas on bass, Kiernan Box on piano, G Lee on acoustic guitar. We fucked up the change but you can get the general idea. A world exclusive.

• Diving Board Harmonic (5.20MB)

From Chris Abraham's solo piano record Glow. There is a single untreated grand piano recorded live with no effects in very low register only but you can hear a high ghostly clanging that wasn't actually played. When all three Necks play in a largish room through a PA stranger sounds can be heard.

• Wide Open Road (3.52MB)

Acoustic version from Dutch radio broadcast I think.

• Too Hot To Move (3.29MB)

Just me and Dave from a similar Dutch radio broadcast as WOR.

• Beginning To See The Light (4.86MB)

The Velvet Underground Song. Comes from the Shaw Theatre 12th April 1989.

• Stand Up (1.15MB)

The first vinyl single from 1981.

• Reverie (2.80MB)

Lead track of a 7" vinyl EP from 1982.

• Dear Miss Lonely Hearts (2.69MB)

One of the B-sides of the 12" single Wide Open Road from 1986.

• Memories (4.13MB)

From the Red Ponies' 1994 tour of Europe Recorded in Malmo, Sweden. Unreleased.

• A Trick Of The Light (2.06MB)

From the Red Ponies' 1994 tour of Europe Recorded in Malmo, Sweden. Unreleased.

• Clear Out My Mind (3.72MB)

From the Red Ponies' 1994 tour of Europe Recorded in Malmo, Sweden. Unreleased.

• Warren breaks his violin at the end of Memories (1.76MB)

From the Red Ponies' 1994 tour of Europe Recorded in Hultsfred, Sweden. Unreleased.

• Rent (1.86MB)

Recorded during the sessions for Stockholm.

• Trick Of The Light (1.77MB)

This was recorded during the In The Pines sessions and probably written the morning it was recorded. Hence the lack of middle eight tune, and some different lyrics. It's a very straightforward version and I don't think it was ever in contention for the final track list, mainly because it needed work to achieve full potential.

• I've Heard Things Turn Out This Way (1.8MB)

Recorded by Victor Van Vugt, Marty on bass and Conway Savage on piano. This is an FM quality mp3. It's a beautiful song and was co-written with Mark Snarski but I'm not sure who did what.




Real Audio

• When A Man Turns Bad (730K)

Four track recording by Dave Unreleased.
(D.McComb/Mushroom Music)

• The Good Life Never Ends (500k)

From recordings done at Julian Wu's place by Julian with costar. Unreleased.
(D.McComb/Mushroom Music)