'Swarb' hangs up his bow.


Recommended Posts

As soon as I get my record player up and running again I shall play my Ian Campbell Folk Group LP. Dave played on that. Possibly one of his earliest recorded gigs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Swarbrick

Around 15-20 years ago, I walked into the Sunday night folk club in the upstairs room of the Eagle and Child, Billinge. I had no idea who, if anyone of note, was playing. It was a club which had swapped pubs a few times recently after quitting its origins in the now long gone Traveller's Rest in St Helens.

I barely noticed the chap who took my small entrance fee on the door as I went to stand with my back to the bar, watching and listening to a couple of local lads playing something on fiddle and concertina. I also barely noticed the chap standing next to me, until a pause between songs had him turning to me and saying "They're good aren't they?"

I looked at him and it slowly dawned.. (Very little quickly dawns with me these days..) that I was talking to British folk legend Martin Carthy. We went on to have a very interesting chat for a few minutes. He was a genuinely unpretentious and pleasant chap. Then he went up to what passed for a stage, to play and sing with the bloke on the door.. who was Dave Swarbrick.

It was a magical evening.

R.I.P. Dave. And thank you.

Col

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...