Dave Swarbrick & Simon Nicol

"Live at the White Bear" 1981

After Fairport Convention "split up" in 1979 (later to re-form of course), the individual members went their separate ways. Dave Pegg went straight into Jethro Tull, Simon Nicol re-joined the Albion Band as well becoming a regular part of Richard & Linda Thompson's band, and Dave Swarbrick decided to retire to a cottage in Scotland. At least that was the plan....

But only a year or so later, amongst the occasional Fairport re-union gigs, Simon & Swarb decided to join forces and tour the folk clubs as an acoustic duo. Swarb was an old hand at this after his highly acclaimed work with Martin Carthy a decade previously and the new combination was to prove just as effective. The duo spent the next five years playing hundreds of gigs throughout the UK and the USA and went down a storm everywhere they played. In the process they recorded three albums - 1982's 'In The Club', a limited issue tape sold at the club gigs (& now reissued, extended & available from us); later that year the live album 'Live At The White Bear', and in 1984 a studio album 'Close To The Wind'.