Gordon Giltrap. A guitar craftsman
Imagine sitting right down in front of a terrific guitarist while he plays for you. It's an amazing privilege. One of the things I try to do in the Lives In Music series is to persuade my guests to include a little bit of live music as part of the conversation. That's tricky with, say, drummers, of course, so it doesn't always happen. But it happened here. Gordon was generous to a fault with his time. Gordon Giltrap may be best known for his 'Heart Song' classic, but there is so much more to the man that that. Here, Gordon deconstructs some classic songs, plays some of his own material, and tells tales of his days as a wide-eyed teenager watching Paul Simon demo 'Bookends' to a folk club audience. Gordon was playing as a scrap of a teenager in a scene that defined the best of UK 60s and 70s folk. He's still playing today, with boundless enthusiasm. Links Gordon Giltrap's website and facebook page carry details of his custom guitars, gigs, a freshly published biography and lots more. There's a ton of iffy facebook clips, shot mostly on wobbly hand-held phones of Gordon playing live. Some are good; most are bad and don't do you or Gordon any favours. For some 70s vintage, here's Gordon on Top of the Pops in 1977 And if you love the sound of Gordon's guitars, here's the Fylde Guitars website. Lives in Music The Lives in Music series celebrates people who have spent a lifetime in music. They may be famous; they may be people who have spent their lives working in the background for the love of it. They all have stories. Don't forget to subscribe!