The George Hotel welcomes a musician whose talent and stage presence has seen him perform live for forty years. Gordon Giltrap (www.giltrap.co.uk) has graced the music business with his dedication to his craft and his affection for his audience. As one of the UK's foremost guitarists, he has consistently proved the adage that respect cannot be bought – it must be earned.

Gordon joined his first band when barely in his teens, and relished the opportunity to play songs by his idols - Cliff Richard, The Shadows and The Everly Brothers. He unwittingly taught himself a hybrid technique of plectrum and little finger, creating the individual sound that is still his trademark.

Gordon served his apprenticeship as a singer/songwriter on the London folk club scene, before being discovered by legendary record producer Bill Leader.  It was Bill who suggested that Transatlantic Records should sign him and his self-titled debut album was released in 1968. Each subsequent album broke new ground, and Gordon developed an extraordinary repertoire while establishing a reputation for thrilling live performances. Even to this day Gordon features material from those first two albums (Lucifer’s Cage and Ive’s Horizon) in his live shows.

Over the years, Gordon has worked with an amazingly broad range of artists, from rock musicians such as Brian May, Rick Wakeman and Midge Ure to jazz virtuoso Martin Taylor, classical guitarist Raymond Burley and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1996, Gordon realised a dream of playing guitar alongside Cliff Richard, on stage in Cliff's West End musical Heathcliff. As well as performing in the role of The Troubadour, Gordon arranged the overture and wrote some of the music.

In the late Seventies, Gordon enjoyed a brief spell as a pop star, with hit albums Perilous Journey, Fear of the Dark and Visionary, and two hit singles. One of these, 'Heartsong' was nominated for an Ivor Novello award, and is fondly remembered as the theme tune to the BBC's Holiday programme. Although his three classic progressive rock albums brought him to the attention of the British public, Gordon doesn’t regard them as his finest hour and believes his work over the past 25 years has been his best.

Proprietor of The George Cathy Doel says: “We have been privileged to welcome Gordon here before, and look forward to hearing his performance on Friday 21 February.  The facts speak for themselves –how many musicians can claim successful, forty year career?  So whether you are an affection ado of his previous work, or just wish to seen a maestro inaction action, please join us!”

Tickets £12
www.wegottickets.com/240199