PHONES SPORTSMAN

Christened with the name David Barrington by his parents, Phones started as an inspired multi-instrumentalist in the scene that evolved into Swell Maps. He had a quirky, tuneful, expressive voice, and it seemed that he could pick up anything and get an inspired sound out of it: guitars, flutes, keyboards, harmonica, and found objects. He also managed to explore the sonic use of primitive electronics with minimal resources. He introduced his friends to the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and encouraged the them to experiment with avant-garde ideas.

Phones was in the Swell Maps line-up that recorded the session that produced the first single, but he decided to retire from the band when he realised that there was a serious intention to play live on stage. He was resistant to the prospect playing in front of audiences, so he confined himself to contributing to recordings at studio sessions. However, he continued to record occasionally with the avant-garde trio Independent Piggies, with John Cockrill and Dave Wright. For many years he worked on oil rigs around the world as a geologist. When he returned to the UK, he settled in Wales, where he recorded various albums of eccentric songs for the Scottish Topplers label.