PERILOUS JOURNEY: THE AUTHORISED GORDON GILTRAP BIOGRAPHY

Steve Pilkington WymER PuBlishing A dream for completists and casual fans alike.

Perilous Journey will be familiar to Giltrap fans as his most famous album’s title. It is also singularly apt for this book. He captures the ups-and-downs of Giltrap’s career with a generous and passionate eye. It’s all here – Giltrap’s recent struggles with ill-health, his search for happiness in personal and professional relationships, his rejection of conventional faith, the twists and turns of his 50-year career. Giltrap has authorised a biography that doesn’t shy away from struggle and it’s all the better for that. Pilkington handles the material with kindness and love and never loses sight of the fact that Giltrap’s perilous journey is first and foremost a musical one: as a musicians’ musician most of the chapters take a Giltrap album or tour as their leaping-off point. We hear about his encounters with a Who’s Who of British music from Cliff Richard to David Gilmour to John Entwistle, as well his strange and serendipitous encounters with figures like Miles Copeland. Pilkington reveals that Giltrap is no plaster saint, but someone whose career shifts and challenges could be anyone’s. It makes for a charming and satisfying read. RM