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Artist
Dave Swarbrick
12+ albums
folkfiddleenglish folkbritish folkIrish Folk
about
Dave Swarbrick (born 5 April 1941; died 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician. He played violin, viola, mandolin, and guitar. His work with Fairport Convention from 1969 is usually credited with leading them to produce their seminal album Liege and Lief (1969) which initiated the electric folk movement. Swarbrick was born in New Malden, Surrey and grew up in Birmingham. He learnt the rudiments of the violin from a local fiddler and attended the Birmingham College of Art (now the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design) in the late 1950s. Playing guitar, he joined Beryl Marriot's Ceilidh Band in Birmingham. Beryl encouraged him to take up the fiddle again. Swarbrick joined the Ian Campbell Folk Group in 1960. In 1966 he teamed up with Martin Carthy and the pairing had a significant influence in the contemporary folk music scene. In 1969 he joined folk-rock group Fairport Convention. In 1973 he contributed mandolin to Al Stewart's "Past, Present, & Future" album. In 1984 Swarbrick formed Whippersnapper, a group renowned for its acoustic prowess. In 1989 he decided to leave to concentrate on solo work and revive his partnership with Martin Carthy. In 1993 Swarbrick moved to Australia and met and began working with Alistair Hulett. Returning to England in 1996, he started working with Kevin Dempsey, who has recently joined Uiscedwr. There was considerable embarrassment for the Daily Telegraph newspaper in 1999 when it published a premature obituary for Swarbrick after he
top songs
1
The Cuckoo's Nest
4,7702Once I Loved a Maiden Fair
2,7143Boadicea
2,4314Hens March to the Middens
2,1295Spanish Ladies Medley
2,0996Byker Hill
1,5407The Teetotallers Medley
1,2718Bottom of the Puch Bowl / The Swallow Tail / Marquis of Tullybardine
1,2089Gurty's Frolics
1,15610The Swallows Tail / Rakes of Kildare / Blackthron Stick
918
