Lawson Square Infirmary
Encyclopedia
Lawson Square Infirmary was a 12" EP
released in 1984
. In 2008, all tracks from the EP were included on the compilation
Beautiful Waste and Other Songs.
Lawson Square Infirmary was the result of a one-off recording collaboration between members of The Triffids
and Sydney musician James Paterson, of JFK & The Cuban Crisis, who financed the recording and was Triffids singer David McComb
's occasional songwriting collaborator. The performances were recorded in a couple of takes live to stereo at the Sydney Opera House
shortly before the Triffids relocated to London. It was also the first Triffids release to feature 'Evil' Graham Lee
, who was later asked to join the band. The Triffids shared a rambling, run down house in Lawson Square, Redfern
in Sydney.
In the liner notes to Beautiful Waste and Other Songs James Paterson's history of the recording of Lawson Square Infirmary supports this. He recounts how the collaboration began when he visited The Triffids' Sydney house for a "typically economical dinner" and played for McComb a riff he had invented that afternoon. McComb seemed to improvise a melody spontaneously and produced some lyrics almost as suddenly: the song "Figurines" had just appeared. Paterson visited The Triffids again a couple of days later and McComb was eager to follow a particular musical avenue, asking Paterson if he had any other songs in a country vein. Paterson offered "When My Heart Breaks", which was suitably slowed down by McComb.
With Alsy MacDonald
providing "Mother Silhouette", a small repertoire of country-style songs had quickly developed. Paterson suggested recording them merely for amusement, but McComb and the other Triffids pushed to actually release them, albeit with two conditions. They were penniless and about to leave for England, so they couldn't pay for the recording, and they felt that around that time they had glutted the market with several releases, so the record should be a Lawson Square Infirmary project, not a Triffids' endeavour.
Pursuing the notion that he and McComb had just formed a distinct country band, Paterson asked Graham Lee to play dobro for the project, in order to boost the country sound and to make the personnel less obviously just The Triffids. In fact he had just introduced a new member to them. He also found a remarkable bass player, Daubney Carshott. Carshott was a man of coincidence, sharing the name of the lead from a 1937 Australian film, Lovers and Luggers, and the musical skills of the Triffids' Martyn Casey, whom he also strangely resembled. Paterson scared up a recording session with a well-respected sound engineer. She offered to record some songs to DAT and although the musisians had some misgivings about this still novel and reportedly 'cold' digital technology, the offer had the double advantage of prestige, set to take place at the Sydney Opera House, and frugality, to happen on the sly from midnight to dawn. And so Lawson Square Infirmary was recorded in only a few hours on The Triffids' last weekend in Sydney.
The EP was released with two different coloured sleeves - pink text/images on a pale yellow background, and brown text/images on a pale yellow background. The pink sleeves were the result of incorrect printing and have not been reproduced since the initial pressing of the EP. Paterson reports that the incorrect printing resulted in one of the few strained moments in his and McComb's friendship when McComb, back in Perth, thought Paterson had actually OKed this "monstrosity".
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
released in 1984
1984 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...
. In 2008, all tracks from the EP were included on the compilation
Beautiful Waste and Other Songs.
Lawson Square Infirmary was the result of a one-off recording collaboration between members of The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
and Sydney musician James Paterson, of JFK & The Cuban Crisis, who financed the recording and was Triffids singer David McComb
David McComb
David Richard McComb was an Australian rock musician. He was the singer-songwriter of the Australian band, The Triffids.-Early years in Perth:...
's occasional songwriting collaborator. The performances were recorded in a couple of takes live to stereo at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
shortly before the Triffids relocated to London. It was also the first Triffids release to feature 'Evil' Graham Lee
Graham Lee (Australian musician)
Graham Lee is an Australian rock musician and record producer, best known as the steel guitar player of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he was nicknamed 'Evil Graham Lee'....
, who was later asked to join the band. The Triffids shared a rambling, run down house in Lawson Square, Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
in Sydney.
In the liner notes to Beautiful Waste and Other Songs James Paterson's history of the recording of Lawson Square Infirmary supports this. He recounts how the collaboration began when he visited The Triffids' Sydney house for a "typically economical dinner" and played for McComb a riff he had invented that afternoon. McComb seemed to improvise a melody spontaneously and produced some lyrics almost as suddenly: the song "Figurines" had just appeared. Paterson visited The Triffids again a couple of days later and McComb was eager to follow a particular musical avenue, asking Paterson if he had any other songs in a country vein. Paterson offered "When My Heart Breaks", which was suitably slowed down by McComb.
With Alsy MacDonald
Alsy MacDonald
Alan MacDonald is an Australian rock musician and lawyer, best known as the drummer of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he performed under his nickname 'Alsy'....
providing "Mother Silhouette", a small repertoire of country-style songs had quickly developed. Paterson suggested recording them merely for amusement, but McComb and the other Triffids pushed to actually release them, albeit with two conditions. They were penniless and about to leave for England, so they couldn't pay for the recording, and they felt that around that time they had glutted the market with several releases, so the record should be a Lawson Square Infirmary project, not a Triffids' endeavour.
Pursuing the notion that he and McComb had just formed a distinct country band, Paterson asked Graham Lee to play dobro for the project, in order to boost the country sound and to make the personnel less obviously just The Triffids. In fact he had just introduced a new member to them. He also found a remarkable bass player, Daubney Carshott. Carshott was a man of coincidence, sharing the name of the lead from a 1937 Australian film, Lovers and Luggers, and the musical skills of the Triffids' Martyn Casey, whom he also strangely resembled. Paterson scared up a recording session with a well-respected sound engineer. She offered to record some songs to DAT and although the musisians had some misgivings about this still novel and reportedly 'cold' digital technology, the offer had the double advantage of prestige, set to take place at the Sydney Opera House, and frugality, to happen on the sly from midnight to dawn. And so Lawson Square Infirmary was recorded in only a few hours on The Triffids' last weekend in Sydney.
The EP was released with two different coloured sleeves - pink text/images on a pale yellow background, and brown text/images on a pale yellow background. The pink sleeves were the result of incorrect printing and have not been reproduced since the initial pressing of the EP. Paterson reports that the incorrect printing resulted in one of the few strained moments in his and McComb's friendship when McComb, back in Perth, thought Paterson had actually OKed this "monstrosity".
Track listing
- "Figurine"
- "When My Heart Breaks"
- "Mother Silhouette"
- "Mercy"
- "Crucifixion Speech"
- "Not The Marrying Kind"
Personnel
- David McCombDavid McCombDavid Richard McComb was an Australian rock musician. He was the singer-songwriter of the Australian band, The Triffids.-Early years in Perth:...
- vocals, guitar, percussion - Robert McComb - violin
- Alsy MacDonaldAlsy MacDonaldAlan MacDonald is an Australian rock musician and lawyer, best known as the drummer of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he performed under his nickname 'Alsy'....
- guitar, vocals, percussion - James Paterson - vocals, guitar, mandolin, piano
- Graham LeeGraham Lee (Australian musician)Graham Lee is an Australian rock musician and record producer, best known as the steel guitar player of the 1980s band The Triffids, where he was nicknamed 'Evil Graham Lee'....
- vocals, dobro - Daubney Carshott (aka Martyn CaseyMartyn P. CaseyMartyn Paul Casey is an English-born Australian rock bass guitarist. He had been a member of The Triffids, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. Casey plays either his Fender Precision Bass or Fender Jazz Bass.-Biography:...
) - bass