St George’s Church, Hartlepool
Friday, 20th June 2025
Just a few weeks after my last visit to St George’s in Hartlepool to see the excellent Jocelyn Pettit, Ellen Gira & Miguel Girão, I found myself back at what is fast becoming one of my favourite venues. The welcome was as warm as ever, both literally and figuratively, with the coolness of the nave providing a welcome escape from the soaring temperature outside.
Although it has been a few years since I last saw Gordon Giltrap in concert, I have followed him and his music, since the mid seventies ‘progressive rock’ albums Visionary, Perilous Journey and Fear Of The Dark witnessing full band performances of pieces from those albums. In recent years Gordon has toured mainly as solo artist, although there have been notable live collaborations – John Etheridge, Raymond Burley, Four Parts Guitar, Oliver Wakeman (Ravens and Lullabies), to mention just a few. Tonight’s concert was to be one of his solo performances featuring tunes from across his long and distinguished career.
As we entered the church I could see the crossing was set out with a various array of acoustic guitars as well as an electric Telecaster shaped guitar, however it would be the acoustic guitar Gordon would turn to, to open the proceedings and we are immediately reminded, should we need it, of his mastery of the instrument. Blending full strummed and powerful sections with the most delicate and intricate picking – something he demonstrated time and time again across this captivating evening. I had planned to take notes during the performance and jot down the tracks for the customary concert review set-list, however ten minutes in and I simply abandoned any such notion as I was completely drawn into Gordon’s musical world. As it was I wouldn’t have been able to do a definitive set-list as the evening turned out to be a concert of two distinct halves – light and dark.
Now there are very few musicians who can hold the attention of audience whilst tuning the guitar, but Gordon managed. Such is his craft and as he tuned by ear, he regaled amusing anecdotes of his lifetime on the road, his many collaborations and finally offering insights into the tune we were about to hear. For instance his introduction to the Bert Jansch’s arrangement of Davy Graham’s Angie had him expanding on the walking bass line that drives the tune along. His comment at the end of the piece however was truly priceless – perhaps not performed to his exacting standards – he quipped ‘there are no mistakes in jazz, just opportunities’.
And the gems kept flowing from his fretboard and assorted effects unit, the echo-laden On Camber Sands was truly sublime. Introduced by the tale of his Top Of the Pops appearance, Heartsong, with the main melody now embedded into the chordal structure got an earlier than usual outing and certainly a crowd favourite. Then there was his wonderful version of George Harrison’s Here Comes The Sun – always guaranteed to bring a smile. And rounding off the first set was his glorious and extended adaptation of the beautiful Dodo’s Dream from The Peacock Party (1979). Using delays and loops he gradually brings together the melodies and themes from the track taking it well past the original four minute piece. It could of gone on much longer for me. Truly stunning…
A short interval – a quick catch up – tea, coffee and biscuits for some and something a little stronger for others…
Shortly after 9:00 Gordon returned to the stage for what might have been a relatively short set as in the third tune – the power went off and the emergency lights came on. I heard someone quip about having 50p for the meter, however it soon became apparent that the outage was more widespread. In fact over 50,000 homes and business were affected by the ‘equipment failure’. And that could well have been it, however a testament to the man he emerged from the back of the stage and in relative darkness carried his guitar and a chair from the crossing into the nave and continued to play for another 20 minutes or so. He remarked that he started his career in the folk clubs and the ‘up close and personal’ approach was the order of the day in the late 60s. Even in its acoustic form his guitar was audible throughout the church, although sadly my ears were not able to pick up his voice as he continued to introduce the tunes.
The standing ovation was prolonged and richly deserved.
Tonight’s performance was pure Gordon Giltrap – warm and engaging, performed in his retiring and modest manner whilst confirming his undeniable skills on the guitar. A wonderfully lyrical and articulate player and a truly memorable concert. I did ponder afterwards if tonight’s performance might give Gordon a new tale to tell – the night the lights went out in Hartlepool.
As mentioned in the opening of this review St George’s has become a favourite venue for me. They continue to attract world class performers as tonight’s concert bears witness. The atmosphere is warm and friendly, great acoustics in the venue and the amplified sound has always been excellent and all the concerts are filmed and then projected onto two screens either side of the stage. The icing on the cake however is the audience themselves. Considering tonight’s concert was virtually sold-out the audience were respectful and there was no talking during the performance, other than those elicited by Gordon.
[On behalf of TPA and myself I would like to thank Paul Rodgers for the live photos used in this review.]
MUSICIAN
Gordon Giltrap – Acoustic & Electric Guitars
