Fairport Convention man Dave Swarbrick dead at 75

Dave Swarbrick: 1941-2016
Dave Swarbrick: 1941-2016 (Image credit: Getty)

Dave Swarbrick, best known for his violin and songwriting work in Fairport Convention, has died aged 75.

The news was confirmed on the band’s website.

A statement reads: “We have just had the sad news from Alex Swarbrick that his father, Dave Swarbrick, has passed away.

“Swarb, as you know, had been seriously ill for some time and, although he had showed recent signs of improvement, died in hospital this morning.

“Our thoughts right now are with his wife Jill and the Swarbrick family.”

Swarbrick was an instrumental part in the folk icons, steering them through the 70s until they split in 1979. He appeared on a total of 11 Fairport Convention albums: 1969’s Unhalfbricking and Liege & Lief, 1970’s Full House, 1971’s Angel Delight and “Babbacombe” Lee, 1973’s Rosie and Nine, 1975’s Rising For The Moon, 1976’s Gottle O’ Geer, 1977’s The Bonny Bunch Of Roses and 1978’s Tipplers Tales.

Swarbrick suffered from emphysema for many years which led him to have a double lung transplant in 2004.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.