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Gordon Giltrap
Gordon Giltrap (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including Steve Rothery, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page.
Giltrap was born on 6 April 1948 in the village of Brenchley, Kent, England, at the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies. Thereafter, he was brought up in Deptford, south east London, spending the first 11 years of his life at 43 Elverson Road, a two up, two down terraced house shared by two households with an outside toilet. His family then moved to Blackwall Lane, East Greenwich. Rock star Marty Wilde grew up in the same area, along with guitarist Albert Lee. Giltrap began to play the guitar at the age of 12, receiving no formal tuition, choosing instead to develop his own style and technique.
Giltrap's career began in the 1960s performing in the folk music scene in London alongside contemporaries such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, and Mike Oldfield. Giltrap was part of the band Accolade in 1969-1970 after which he went solo again. At 18, Giltrap signed with Transatlantic Records and released his debut studio albums, Gordon Giltrap (1968) and Portrait (1969). Both featured Giltrap on guitar and lead vocals; he has since considered his lyrics "naive". The track "Willow Pattern" from his debut attracted the praise of guitarist Ralph McTell for the imagery it portrayed. "Gospel Song", also from his first, features a more aggressive strumming style, influenced by Pete Townshend, which later became a trademark of his style. In 1969, Giltrap was featured in Transatlantic's guitar showcase album The Contemporary Guitar Sampler, Volume 1. He was also featured on the second volume released in 1970, and both increased his profile.
Shortly after the release of his first album, Giltrap joined The Buskers' Tour of the UK, headlined by Don Partridge. Giltrap subsequently formed a band with Partridge called Accolade. Together they released a self-titled album. Partridge later wrote the sleeve notes for Portrait. Giltrap played lead guitar in the band and penned several compositions. Whilst his involvement in the band certainly helped to raise his profile he felt impatient to move on to recording further new albums under his own name.
In 1970, Giltrap signed to MCA Records and released his next album, Testament of Time, which was again a mixture of songs and instrumental pieces. on two future albums. It was to be one of the pieces he chose to play on his first television appearance, on Disco 2.
At this stage, he was managed by Miles Copeland who, amongst others, also managed Wishbone Ash. Strings on the album were arranged by Del Newman, who also played keyboards. Newman had already worked with many artists of that era including Cat Stevens. Thus began a lasting friendship, and later Giltrap wrote the foreword for Newman's 2010 autobiography A Touch From God (It's Only Rock and Roll). With Newman's influence, the album had a much fuller sound than Giltrap's previous two albums and he regarded it as a significant step forward.
His association with Copeland ended when he moved to Philips Records, releasing the 1973 album entitled Giltrap. This album featured a much larger band. On some of the songs he experimented with early instruments (played by Douglas Wooton and Rod and Joseph Sleeping) and some of his lyrics clearly reflected an interest in historical events. The drummer on this album was Nicko McBrain, who a decade later would join Iron Maiden. The front cover photographs reflect Giltrap as a proud father blowing bubbles together with his then two-year-old son, Jamie. The opening track, "When I See My Son", further reflected that pride. This was the last album on which he sang lead vocals. As he became less convinced by his lyric writing capabilities he began seeking a different path.
While popular on the folk and university circuit, Giltrap reached a turning point and received greater recognition during the 1970s. During this time, Giltrap started to concentrate on more purely instrumental pieces, and in 1976 released the album Visionary, based on the art and poetry of William Blake. Whilst recording, he missed the birth of his daughter Sadie, who was born in March 1975.
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Gordon Giltrap
Gordon Giltrap (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including Steve Rothery, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page.
Giltrap was born on 6 April 1948 in the village of Brenchley, Kent, England, at the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies. Thereafter, he was brought up in Deptford, south east London, spending the first 11 years of his life at 43 Elverson Road, a two up, two down terraced house shared by two households with an outside toilet. His family then moved to Blackwall Lane, East Greenwich. Rock star Marty Wilde grew up in the same area, along with guitarist Albert Lee. Giltrap began to play the guitar at the age of 12, receiving no formal tuition, choosing instead to develop his own style and technique.
Giltrap's career began in the 1960s performing in the folk music scene in London alongside contemporaries such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, and Mike Oldfield. Giltrap was part of the band Accolade in 1969-1970 after which he went solo again. At 18, Giltrap signed with Transatlantic Records and released his debut studio albums, Gordon Giltrap (1968) and Portrait (1969). Both featured Giltrap on guitar and lead vocals; he has since considered his lyrics "naive". The track "Willow Pattern" from his debut attracted the praise of guitarist Ralph McTell for the imagery it portrayed. "Gospel Song", also from his first, features a more aggressive strumming style, influenced by Pete Townshend, which later became a trademark of his style. In 1969, Giltrap was featured in Transatlantic's guitar showcase album The Contemporary Guitar Sampler, Volume 1. He was also featured on the second volume released in 1970, and both increased his profile.
Shortly after the release of his first album, Giltrap joined The Buskers' Tour of the UK, headlined by Don Partridge. Giltrap subsequently formed a band with Partridge called Accolade. Together they released a self-titled album. Partridge later wrote the sleeve notes for Portrait. Giltrap played lead guitar in the band and penned several compositions. Whilst his involvement in the band certainly helped to raise his profile he felt impatient to move on to recording further new albums under his own name.
In 1970, Giltrap signed to MCA Records and released his next album, Testament of Time, which was again a mixture of songs and instrumental pieces. on two future albums. It was to be one of the pieces he chose to play on his first television appearance, on Disco 2.
At this stage, he was managed by Miles Copeland who, amongst others, also managed Wishbone Ash. Strings on the album were arranged by Del Newman, who also played keyboards. Newman had already worked with many artists of that era including Cat Stevens. Thus began a lasting friendship, and later Giltrap wrote the foreword for Newman's 2010 autobiography A Touch From God (It's Only Rock and Roll). With Newman's influence, the album had a much fuller sound than Giltrap's previous two albums and he regarded it as a significant step forward.
His association with Copeland ended when he moved to Philips Records, releasing the 1973 album entitled Giltrap. This album featured a much larger band. On some of the songs he experimented with early instruments (played by Douglas Wooton and Rod and Joseph Sleeping) and some of his lyrics clearly reflected an interest in historical events. The drummer on this album was Nicko McBrain, who a decade later would join Iron Maiden. The front cover photographs reflect Giltrap as a proud father blowing bubbles together with his then two-year-old son, Jamie. The opening track, "When I See My Son", further reflected that pride. This was the last album on which he sang lead vocals. As he became less convinced by his lyric writing capabilities he began seeking a different path.
While popular on the folk and university circuit, Giltrap reached a turning point and received greater recognition during the 1970s. During this time, Giltrap started to concentrate on more purely instrumental pieces, and in 1976 released the album Visionary, based on the art and poetry of William Blake. Whilst recording, he missed the birth of his daughter Sadie, who was born in March 1975.