Violinist Dave Swarbrick: Not Dead
sain...@my-dejanews.com
Paper kills off musician by mistake
The wife of former Fairport Convention musician Dave
Swarbrick has been swamped with calls from fans and
friends after a UK newspaper wrongly reported his death.
The obituary of the folk violinist was published in the
Daily Telegraph as he recovered in hospital in Coventry
after a serious illness.
His wife Jill said he had been transferred to a normal
ward from an intensive care unit at Walsgrave Hospital
after battling with a chest infection.
"This is really going to tickle him pink," she said. "But it
is just as well it didn't happen a few days ago when he
was in intensive care.
"The phone has been red hot
this morning with all the
musicians who know him
ringing up to find out how he
died and to offer their
support."
A spokesman for the
Telegraph said: "I have
spoken to Mrs Swarbrick this
morning and apologised to
her, and we will be publishing
a full apology in the
tomorrow."
The 58-year-old is best known for his part in Fairport
Convention during the 1970s and 1980s, and his work
with Martin Carthy.
He left Fairport Convention in 1984, but has continued to
perform on the electric violin around the world.
Swarbrick was struck by illness while in Germany five
weeks ago. He has suffered from the lung disease
emphysema for some years.
The obituary paid tribute to 'Swarb', "a small, dynamic,
charismatic figure" who could "electrify an audience with
a single frenzied sweep of his bow".
Former Fairport Convention colleague Dave Pegg was
also inundated with calls.
He said: "It is a glowing obituary and Dave will be very
pleased with what they have said. But it is unbelievable it
has been published now."
---------------------------------------
The Telegraph obit:
Dave Swarbrick
Violinist with the British group Fairport Convention who in the late 1960s
opened the door for the fusion of folk and rock
DAVE SWARBRICK, the violinist and singer who has died aged 58, was one of
the most influential folk musicians of the 1970s and 1980s, especially with
the group Fairport Convention.
A small, dynamic, charismatic figure, "Swarb" - cigarette perched
precariously on his bottom lip, unruly hair flapping over his face, pint of
beer ever at hand - could electrify an audience with a single frenzied sweep
of his bow. He never failed to produce a dramatic effect, whether on fiddle
or mandolin, whether playing in tiny folk clubs or at huge open air
festivals.
David Swarbrick was born at New Malden, Surrey, on April 5 1941. He was first
drawn to folk music after taking up the guitar during the skiffle boom of the
late 1950s. When he was 16, the pianist Beryl Marriott heard him at a skiffle
group competition and invited him to join a ceilidh dance band.
Beryl Marriott also persuaded him to have another crack at the fiddle which
he had played as a child but which he had long since consigned to the attic.
He grew up fast on stage, overcoming his natural diffidence to take an
assured position at the centre of the band.
In the 1960s, Swarbrick was invited to play in some of the sessions of Ewan
MacColl's and Charles Parker's Radio Ballads. Through these he was introduced
to Ian Campbell, a Scotsman who was turning his sights on the British folk
tradition.
Swarbrick joined the Ian Campbell Folk Group in time to play on their first
record, EP Ceilidh At The Crown (1962); he went on to help establish them as
stars of the emerging folk clubs. The group had a minor hit with the first
British cover of a Dylan song, The Times They Are A Changing. Swarbrick's
reputation rose rapidly, and in 1965 he was invited to play on Martin Carthy's
first album.
The next year he suddenly decided to emigrate to Denmark and marry his
Danish girlfriend. With little money and no return ticket, he was detained at
the Hook of Holland by customs, and promptly sent home again.
He ended up staying in London with Martin Carthy, a twist of fate that led to
an important partnership. The intuitive interplay between Carthy's guitar and
Swarbrick's fiddle was something entirely new, while their innovative
arrangements of traditional standards proved inspirational.
Over the next three years, they were a huge draw. Their albums, Byker Hill
(1967), But Two Came By (1968) and Prince Heathen (1969) broke the mould of
traditional song arrangement and opened the door for the fusion of folk and
rock upon which Swarbrick would stamp himself with such force.
When he was asked to play on a session for Fairport Convention in 1969, he
had never even heard of the band. At that time the idea of an electrified
violin was so novel that, in order to create the desired effect, a telephone
handset was taped to Swarbrick's fiddle and connected to an amplifier.
Swarbrick was initially booked for one number only, but he ended up playing
on four tracks on Fairport's Unhalfbricking album (1969). This led to an
invitation to join the band full time. Disillusioned with the parochialism of
folk music, Swarbrick needed no second bidding.
His first album as a fully fledged member of Fairport Convention was Liege &
Lief (1969), which broke new ground in marrying traditional songs with rock.
Two members of the band, Sandy Denny and Ashley Hutchings, walked out after
disputes about the direction of their music. This left Swarbrick and the
guitarist Richard Thompson to take their place at the core of the band.
Over the next 15 years Fairport Convention undertook world tours and made
more than a dozen albums, albeit of varying quality.
After Richard Thompson's departure in 1970, Swarbrick developed into a
surprisingly sensitive songwriter, and also took on the role of lead singer.
In 1971 he was the prime creative drive behind Fairport Convention's most
ambitious project, Babbacombe Lee, an album based on the story of John Lee, a
convicted murderer who was reprieved after three attempts to hang him at
Exeter in 1885 had failed.
Swarbrick remained a constant presence throughout the numerous internal
disputes and personnel problems which disrupted Fairport. But continual
playing of the electric violin left him virtually deaf in one ear, and in
1984 he decided to retire.
Even during the Fairport years he had proved that he could play unamplified
fiddle better than most, releasing three magnificent solo albums, Swarbrick
(1976), Swarbrick 2 (1977) and Lift The Lid And Listen (1978).
He now reverted to the acoustic violin as he returned to folk clubs with
fellow Fairport member Simon Nicol. In 1986 he formed a new band,
Whippersnapper. He also made occasional returns to the Fairport fold, playing
at their annual Cropredy Reunion Festival in Oxfordshire.
In 1988 Swarbrick linked up again with Martin Carthy. They made some
successful tours, and produced a couple of fine albums, Life And Limb (1990)
and Skin And Bone (1992). Swarbrick also made cameo appearances in several
films, including Far From The Madding Crowd, while his musical adaptation of
Babbacombe Lee became the subject of a television documentary.
But he was always happiest playing in front of an audience. He spent some of
his last years in Australia, working with the guitarist and singer Alistair
Hulett. Together they recorded the impressive The Cold Grey Light (1998),
which proved to be his final album. Swarbrick would have been happy to die in
harness. "No one is going to take me off the road," he once said. "That's
what I like doing - going out and playing. I hope to do it until the day I
die."
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musi...@cwcom.net
Hi everyone,
Following is tonight's statement from the official Dave Swarbrick Website:
Quote:
"Well now, this has been a day of utter madness. Despite a well documented
report to the contrary, Swarb is alive and well and eating bacon
sandwiches. The somewhat premature obituary that appeared this morning
caused a great deal of distress to all concerned and we would like to
assure Swarb's many fans that he continues to make good progress after his
recent illness.
Perhaps the lesson to be learned here is not to respond to ill informed
rumour and speculation and check the official facts first. Various parts
of the Internet and other publishing media please take note before you
broadcast to the world. On a lighter note Swarb said, " This is not the
first time I've died in Coventry."
Swarb can still be reached c/o 44 Avon Street, Coventry, CV2 3GL. This
bulletin board will be updated when there is new information and it would
be nice if people would check here first."
Unquote:
Regards,
Ian & Stephanie Rennie
--
Musikfolk Limited
P.O. Box 339
West Byfleet
Surrey KT14 7YP
U.K.
Tel: +44 (0) 1932 348594 or 406634
Fax: +44 (0) 1932 355152
Website: http://www.musikfolk.mcmail.com
PrudyPerkins
>In article <7fib07$jg$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
> sain...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>> This is from today's BBC Online. The erroneous obituary follows.
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>Following is tonight's statement from the official Dave Swarbrick Website:
>
>Quote:
>"Well now, this has been a day of utter madness. Despite a well documented
>report to the contrary, Swarb is alive and well and eating bacon
>sandwiches.
I can smell the bacon.