Though he started out as a piano player, Swarbrick switched to fiddle and began playing with various folk groups prior to joining seminal British Folk-Rockers Fairport Convention. This Englishman's electric fiddle and songwriting were as integral to the sound of the band as Richard Thompson's guitar and Sandy Denny's vocals. He departed the band in 1979 and began playing quieter, mostly acoustic music, often with folks that were part of the extended Fairport family.