Gordon Giltrap's Iron Maiden connection

Gordon Giltrap isn't a name one would normally associate with heavy metal legends Iron Maiden. After all, he's more often associated with playing an acoustic guitar, and his albums are more likely to be found in the record collections of those who favour prog and folk music.

But... Have a look at the logo on his 1977 album Fear of The Dark, below Look familiar? These days the font is known as Metal Lord, but that was officially created in 1996, and is widely better known as the font used for the world famous Iron Maiden logo. Giltrap first used that logo on his 1976 album Visionary, which featured the hit single Heartsong. It was also used on the film poster for David Bowie's 1976 movie The Man Who Fell To Earth.

The Giltrap/Maiden connection extends further. Not only did Iron Maiden release an album entitled Fear Of The Dark in 1992, but Maiden drummer Nick McBrain is not only one of Giltrap's old friends, but also drummed on Giltrap's 1973 release Giltrap.

Speaking in the new issue of Prog, Gordon Giltrap speaks about the connection.

"Nicko is an old friend of mine, and played on the Giltrap album," he tells prog writer Mike Barnesin the new issue's The Prog Interview. "In fact, he nearly joined the Giltrap band. We didn't invent that font, but we used it from 1975 onwards. Yeah, Iron Maiden liked it. They also liked that [Fear Of The Dark] title. I was quite flattered, really."

You can read the whole of our new interview with Gordon in the new issue of Prog Magazine, which comes with an Art of Paul Whitehead 2023 Calendar, a 21-track Apollon records sampler and four Moody Blues post cards in the shops now, or online here.

Artists

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.