Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick (born 5 April 1941). English folk fiddle player. Learnt the rudiments of the fiddle from a local fiddler.
Dave joined the Ian Campbell Folk Group in the early 1960s. In 1966 he teamed up with Martin Carthy and the pairing had a significant influence in the contemporary folk music scene. In 1969 Dave joined folk rock group Fairport Convention.
In 1984 Dave formed Whippersnapper, a group renowned for its acoustic prowess. In 1989 Dave decided to leave to concentrate on solo work and revive his partnership with Martin Carthy.
In 1993 Dave moved to Australia and met and began working with Alistair Hulett. Returning to England in 1996, he and Kevin Dempsey started working together.
There was considerable embarrassment for the Daily Telegraph newspaper in 1999 when they rather prematurely published an obituary for Dave after he was admitted to hospital with a chest infection. After many years of steadily worsening health, Dave was fortunate enough, in October 2004, to receive a double lung transplant and has now been released from hospital and it is to be hoped he is on the road to improved health and a better quality of life after being confined to a wheelchair for some years.
In 2004 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.