[4] After winning a talent contest with his skiffle band, playing guitar, he was introduced to Beryl and Roger Marriott, influential local folk musicians.

They produced another four highly regarded recordings between 1967 and 1968, including Byker Hill (1967), whose innovative arrangements of traditional songs made it one of the most influential folk albums of the decade.

[6] Swarbrick also played on albums by Julie Felix, A. L. Lloyd and on the radio ballads, and became perhaps the most highly regarded interpreter of traditional material on the violin and certainly one of the most sought-after session musicians.

[5] In 1967, Swarbrick released his first solo album Rags, Reels and Airs (Topic), with guests Martin Carthy and Diz Disley, which has since become a benchmark for generations of folk fiddlers.

During recording sessions for the Unhalfbricking album, Fairport Convention's manager, Joe Boyd, hired Swarbrick to play some overdubs on the Richard Thompson-penned track "Cajun Woman".

[5] Fairport had decided to play a traditional song "A Sailor's Life", which Swarbrick had previously recorded with Carthy in 1969, and he was asked to contribute fiddle to the session.

Like Liege & 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 nine-minute long anti-war anthem "Sloth".

[13] 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.

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.

[15] 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.

[22] By the time of the Fairport reformation Swarbrick was already occupied with his next project as part of a quartet under the name Whippersnapper, with the highly regarded musicians Martin Jenkins, Chris Leslie and Kevin Dempsey.

From this point Swarbrick left to renew his partnership with Martin Carthy, but after two albums: Life And Limb (1990) and Skin And Bone (1992), he emigrated to Australia.

They produced one album in Australia, Saturday Johnny and Jimmy The Rat (1996), and following Hulett and Swarbrick's return to the UK soon after, made two more; The Cold Grey Light of Dawn and Red Clydeside.

In this period Swarbrick guested on projects with some of the most highly regarded figures in folk rock, including Steve Ashley, John Kirkpatrick and Bert Jansch, as well as continuing with solo work and recording and touring with Martin Carthy.

There was considerable embarrassment for The Daily Telegraph newspaper when in April 1999 it published a premature obituary for Swarbrick after he was admitted to hospital with a chest infection.

"[27] Dave and Christine Pegg launched SwarbAid, including a fund-raising concert at Birmingham's Symphony Hall in July 1999 and releasing a limited-edition 1999 live EP 'SwarbAid' with Fairport Convention in order to raise funds for Swarbrick whilst his poor health was preventing him from working.

[27] Swarbrick received a double lung transplant in October 2004[3] at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and thereafter resumed his career with fervour, as a solo performer and annually on tour in the UK, every autumn, with Martin Carthy.

In 2006 Swarbrick resumed touring again with ex-Fairporter Maartin Allcock and Kevin Dempsey as Swarb's Lazarus, producing the album Live and Kicking (2006); and appearing at the Cropredy Festival.

[29] On 10 August 2007, Swarbrick joined the 1969 Fairport Convention line-up at Cropredy with Chris While standing in for the late Sandy Denny, to perform the whole of the album Liege & Lief.