Let's hope folk musician Dave Swarbrick knows his Mark Twain, writes Paul Harris.

For he has good reason to declare, like the famous author, that rumours of his death have been greatly exaggerated - after reading his own obituary in a national newspaper.

The embarrassed Daily Telegraph issued a full apology for the error, having detailed Dave's life in its columns yesterday.

Fairport Convention's former violinist, who appears every year at the Cropredy festival, near Banbury, is very much alive and still managed a joke as he recovered from an illness in a Coventry hospital. "Tell everyone it's not the first time I have died in Coventry," he told his wife Jill.

Jill said her husband had just been transferred from intensive care to a general ward after a four-week battle with a chest infection.

She added: "He read the obituary and didn't quarrel with any of the spellings or the facts - apart from the obvious.

"He's trying to see the funny side but it is very upsetting. The phone has been red hot with all the musicians who know him ringing up to find out how he died and offer their support." Today's apology in the Telegraph read: "Dave Swarbrick, who mistakenly was reported dead in yesterday's Daily Telegraph, is recovering well following his recent treatment in intensive care. Our sincere apologies to Mr Swarbrick and his family for the distress caused by our inadvertent error."

Swarbrick, 58, a formidable figure on the British folk scene for four decades, is best known for his collaborations with Martin Carthy and his part in Fairport Convention in the 1970s and 80s. He left the electric folk group in 1984 but has continued to perform on the acoustic violin around the world.

Swarbrick, who has suffered from emphysema for some years, was struck by illness in Germany five weeks ago.

Former Fairport colleague Dave Pegg said he was also inundated with calls and added: "It is a glowing obituary and Dave will be very pleased with what they have said, but it is unbelievable it has been published now."

Story date: Wednesday 21 April

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