The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved some success in Australia, but greater success in the UK and in Scandinavia in the 1980s before disbanding in 1989. SBS television featured their 1986 album, Born Sandy Devotional, on the Great Australian Albums series in 2007, and in 2010 it ranked 5th in the book The 100 Best Australian Albums by Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised The Triffids' importance on 1 July 2008 when inducting them into the Hall of Fame. David McComb died on 2 February 1999 "due to heroin toxicity and mild acute rejection of his 1996 heart transplant", according to the coroner.
Peel was aware of the group in 1984 when the band relocated themselves from Australia to the UK, which they gave themselves three months to make inroads. The group released some material in the UK, which gained positive critical reception and on his 04 December 1984 show, Peel claimed that after hearing their first session when broadcast, he went to Romford to see the band perform:
"After the last time that this Triffids session went out, I was so impressed that I travelled out to Romford to the Res to see the band live and would like to see them live again too before they go back to Australia. Perhaps you'll understand why after you've heard this."
The band did three sessions for Peel's show and he nominated their sessions for 1984 and 1985 as one of the best of the years, which he re-broadcast on his Festive Fifty shows.
Sessions[]
THE TRIFFIDS (1st John Peel Session 1984)
session #2 available on The Peel SessionsCD, 1987 (Strange Fruit SFPS036)
