Robert Harold McComb is an Australian musician who played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, organ, and other instruments with

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

-based rock group

The Triffids 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.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The T ...

, from 1979 to 1989. He is the older brother of the band's founder and lead singer-songwriter,

David McComb David Richard McComb (17 February 19622 February 1999) was an Australian musician. He was the singer-songwriter and guitarist of the Australian bands, The Triffids (1976–89) and The Blackeyed Susans (1989–93). He also had a solo career incl ...

(1962–1999). Both were also members of Lawson Square Infirmary and The Red Ponies. Subsequently, McComb was a teacher of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

in Melbourne. On 1 July 2008 The Triffids, with McComb and other surviving members, were inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanim ...

Biography

Robert Harold McComb was born in

, Western Australia as one of four sons. His parents were both doctors, his father, Dr. Harold Keith McComb (born 1924, Brisbane), being a plastic surgeon and his mother, Dr. Kathleen Athel Hockey ( AO) (1923–2011), a medical geneticist. Harold was the only son of A. R. McComb of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Canada and Athel was the youngest daughter of P. R. Hockey of

Toorak, Victoria Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area, on Boonwurrung Land. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the ...

. In 1947 both completed their medical degrees at

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

and were engaged in July. In 1955 the McCombs moved to Perth, and raised their family in a historical residence, '' The Cliffe'' in McNeil Street, Peppermint Grove. All four boys attended

Christ Church Grammar School , motto_translation = God is our leader, learning is our light , established = , founder = William Joseph McClemans , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day and boarding school , gender = Boys , denom ...

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Claremont Football Club, West Australian Footba ...

. The eldest son, Peter McComb, is also a doctor – in obstetrics and gynaecology – and an associate professor in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. In 1979 McComb joined his youngest brother, David Richard McComb in the rock band

, initially as a guitarist, replacing founder Phil Kakulas.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo
'The Triffids'
Archived from th
original
on 17 April 2004. Retrieved 20 July 2012.Spencer et al, (2007), 'Triffids, The' entry. Aside from guitar, McComb also provided violin, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals for The Triffids from 1979 to their disbandment in 1989. From 1990-1991, McComb toured internationally and recorded as a guest guitarist/violinist for Tall Tales and True. In June 1993, three former members of The Triffids: McComb, David and Graham Lee; as well as Charlie Owen and Chris Wilson guested on Acuff's Rose's debut studio album, ''Never Comin' Down''.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo
'Acuff's Rose'
Archived from th
original
on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 23 July 2012. On 2 February 1999 David McComb died. From 2006, The Triffids, with McComb, have reformed for various performances with different guest lead vocalists. On 1 July 2008 The Triffids, with McComb and other surviving members, were inducted into the

. Outside his music career, McComb has been a secondary school teacher of geography in Melbourne and has written advice for

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (often abbreviated VCE) is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria. The VCE is the predominant choice for student ...

students. In October 2009, McComb was a guest panellist on

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

TV pop music quiz show, '' Spicks and Specks''.

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccomb, Robert Australian musicians Living people People educated at Christ Church Grammar School Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Year of birth missing (living people)