Session Work and Fairport Convention in 1969-79
It was as a session musician that Swarbrick was called in by Joe Boyd, the manager of rising folk rock group Fairport Convention, in 1969, originally to undertake some over-dubs on their cover of the Richard Thompson-penned track "Cajun Woman". Fairport had decided to play a traditional song 'A Sailor's Life', which was probably already known to Swarbrick and he was asked to contribute violin to the session. The result was an eleven minute mini-epic that appeared on the 1969 album Unhalfbricking and which marked out a new direction for the band.
Subsequently, Swarbrick was asked to contribute to what became the group's most important album, Liege and Lief (1969). His energetic fiddle style was essential to the new sound and direction of the band, most marked on the medley of four jigs and reels that Swarbrick arranged for the album and which were to become an essential part of almost every subsequent Fairport performance. Before the album was released, key members of the band, founder Ashley Hutchings and singer, guitarist and songwriter Sandy Denny left, and Swarbrick joined the band full-time, excited by the possibilities of performing traditional music in a rock context. His greater maturity, knowledge of folk song, reputation and personality meant that he soon emerged as the leading force in the band and continued to be so for the next decade, encouraging the band to bring in Dave Pegg, another graduate of the Ian Campbell Folk Group, on bass. However, he was already beginning to suffer the hearing problems that would dog the rest of his career.
The first album of this new line up, Full House (1970), although not as commercially successful as Liege and Lief, sold relatively well, and remains highly regarded. Like Liege and Lief it contained interpretations of traditional tunes, including the epic 'Sir Patrick Spens' and another instrumental arranged by Swarbrick, 'Dirty Linen', but also contained songs jointly penned by Swarbrick and guitarist Richard Thompson, including what would become their opening live song 'Walk Awhile', and the anti-war anthem 'Sloth'. The partnership produced another three songs on the next album Angel Delight (1971), however the collaboration was ended when Thompson departed the band soon after.
As ex-Fairport Convention members embarked on their own careers, Swarbrick was often called upon to provide musical support, as he did for albums by Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson. He also played on some of the most significant folk albums of the era, including work by John Renbourn, Al Stewart and Peter Bellamy. In the second half of the 1970s he would begin to release a series of solo albums.
Without Thompson Swarbrick now shouldered even more responsibility for leadership, writing and singing and the result was a remarkably ambitious folk-rock opera album Babbacombe Lee, largely written and sung by Swarbrick. The result gained the band some mainstream attention, including a BBC TV programme devoted to the work, but was a mixed artistic achievement, with critics noting the lack of variety in the album. When Simon Nicol quit the band in 1971, Swarbrick was the longest standing member and responsible for keeping the group afloat through a bewildering series of line-up changes and problematic projects.
The next album 'Rosie' is chiefly notable for the title track, written by Swarbrick, which is perhaps the song most closely associated with him, but overall it was not a critical success. The following release Nine (1974), relied heavily on the writing partnership between Swarbrick and new member Trevor Lucas, but it perhaps lacked the vitality of previous collaborations. The fortunes of the band rallied when Denny rejoined in 1974 and on the resulting album Rising for the Moon Swarbrick took more of a back seat in writing and singing.
After Denny's final departure from the band, Swarbrick managed to steer it through three more studio albums, turning a solo project into a Fairport album Gottle O'Geer (1976) and two albums for Vertigo; The Bonny Bunch of Roses (1977) and Tipplers Tales (1978), which sold poorly, but have since been seen as containing some of Swarbrick's best fiddle work. However, all this was done amid financial and contractual difficulties and Swarbrick's hearing problems were becoming severe and were aggravated by amplified performances. In 1979 the band played a farewell concert in Cropredy Oxfordshire and disbanded.
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