Gordon Giltrap was given his first guitar at the age of 12. Like most youngsters he was influenced by the music of the day - Cliff and The Shadows, then the Beatles and The Who. Later his major influence was Bert Jansch. By the time he was 18 he had secured his first recording contract. 10 years, 6 albums and numerous concerts later, he became an 'overnight success' with the hit single 'Heartsong', the first of two chart singles and two chart albums. 'Heartsong' was nominated for the prestigious Ivor Novello award and went on to be used for many years by the BBC for their famous 'Holiday Programme'. Giltrap's reputation was growing and a number of orchestral works were commissioned, the most notable being the 'Eye of the Wind Rhapsody', premiered at London's Guildhall by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

His music has been used by both commercial and BBC television. At one stage he had the theme music for both holiday programmes and ITV's 'Wish You Were Here' are still using 'The Carnival'. He wrote the theme tune for 'World Bowls'.As well as coming second only to Eric Clapton in Guitar magazine's 10th anniversary readers poll, Giltrap was approached recently by his old friend Cliff Richard to appear in the hit musical 'Heathcliff'. He wrote a number of tunes for the show and was later asked by Sir Cliff to guest on his track 'All That Matters' for the Princess Diana memorial album, which they performed together on the National Lottery live. Gordon Giltrap has recorded over 25 albums during his thirty something year career. His 'Troubadour' album was released to critical acclaim with sleeve notes by Sir Tim Rice and Sir Cliff Richard who also guested as backing vocalist on the opening track.

The respect that Giltrap generates from his fellow musicians was made manifest when he re-recorded his classic instrumental 'Heartsong' to celebrate 25 years in the business with guest appearances from among others, Midge Ure, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Neil Murray and Brian May. The new millennium sees the release of almost all of his entire back catalogue on Voiceprint Records and many have never-released before bonus tracks.

"Music with a smile on its face from a man in love with his arts form."

www.giltrap.co.uk