Press coverage

There are roughly 100 stories here that feature Allan, either as a band member or a solo artist. The majority of features are from guitar magazines, and so they tend to have a technical slant to them. Allan's first proper solo feature was in 1974, but the bulk of the stories are from the 80s and onwards, after Allan went solo. You don't have to read to many of these stories before the same kinds of things come up: Allan would get asked the same questions a lot, particularly in terms of technique and gear. Allan would often talk about his current album, so there's variety in those terms. Many of the stories are reasonably well done, but a few of the interviews go much deeper than the rest. Tom Mulhern's Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1982) is one, Neville Marten's Castles Made Of Sand (Guitarist 1987) is another. Matt Resnicoff probably wrote the two best stories ever on Allan, the companion pieces The Unreachable Star (Guitar World 1989) and Allan Holdsworth’s Untold Secrets + Worthy Quotes (Guitar Player 1990). Mike Pachelli Show (video transcript 1991) goes to some unusual places, while The Reluctant Guitarist (Jazz Journal 1992) tells a lot about where Allan came from, in particular his relationship with his father. Anil Prasad's Creating Imaginary Backdrops (Innerviews 1993) is a nice non-guitar-centric interview, while Allan Holdsworth: An interview (Atavachron 1994) shows Allan in a more informal conversation with his friends, led by Chris Hoard. Neville Marten captures "The Sixteen Men Of Tain" era well in Whisky Galore (Guitarist 2000), while there's a more retrospective slant to Barry Cleveland's The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever (Guitar Player 2008). Those alone should provide many hours of reading.

In October 2023, introductory summaries to most of the articles were added. These summaries were written by ChatGPT 3.5. The prompts used were generally in the form of "Summarize in 50 words:" followed by the source material. This approach turned out to work quite well, as the summaries give a general overview of the subject matter. If you're looking for specific things, it's still probably better to use the search function for the site.

The articles

Note on languages: Many articles have appeared in other languages such as German, French, Spanish and Italian. Most of these are offered here in the original language, as well as in a machine translation. Some of these translations are listed here, while for others you will need to click through the foreign language version. I'll try to make a consistent system eventually. But the important thing to note is that while the translations generally seem to maintain their original meaning, they are not verbatim quotes by Allan, and so they must not be read literally. In October 2023, I added ChatGPT 3.5 translations of a few articles. ChatGPT generally does a better job of translating guitar and music related interviews than Google Translate, as far as I can tell.

Publication	Date	Title	Writer
Igginbottom cover	1 January 1969	Igginbottoms's Wrench: Liner notes	Ronnie Scott/ Mick Jackson
disc	13 January 1973	The Silent Man In Tempest (disc 1973)	Andrew Tyler
Melody Maker	13 January 1973	Tempest's Storm Warning (Melody Maker 1973)	Chris Welch
New Musical Express	20 January 1973	Tempest - Don’t Expect A New Colosseum (NME 1973)	Roy Carr
Melody Maker	06 July 1974	Sad scene say Softs (Melody Maker 1974)	Karl Dallas
Guitar magazine	01 September 1974	Allan Holdsworth (Guitar magazine 1974)	Jeffrey Pike
Melody Maker	01 April 1975	Allan Holdsworth (Melody Maker 1975)	Uncredited
Boston Phenix	13 July 1976	A Disturbingly Normal Genius (Boston Phenix 1976)	Michael Bloom
Guitar magazine	01 August 1976	Terry Theise’s electric guitar top ten (Guitar magazine 1976)	Therry Theise
Beat Instrumental	1 January 1978	Player Of The Month (Beat Instrumental 1978)	Uncredited
Sounds	13 May 1978	No Anarchy In UK (Sounds 1978)	Hugh Fielder
International Musician	1 January 1978	Any Key In The U.K. (Unknown publication 1978)	Eamonn Percival
Beat Instrumental	1 January 1979	Allan Holdsworth (Beat Instrumental 1979)	Gary Cooper
Jazz Hot	1 January 1980	Allan Holdsworth - un ingénieux du son (Jazz Hot 1980)	Marianne Rosenstiehl/Jean-Francis Zermati
Guitar	1 April 1980	Holdsworth & Co. A New Side Of Allan’s Music. (Guitar 1980)	John Dalton
Guitar	1 April 1980	In the dead of night (transcription, Guitar 1980)	Steve Vai
Guitar Player	1 December 1980	Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1980)	Tom Mulhern
International Musician	1 August 1981	Allan Holdsworth (International Musician 1981)	Max Kay
Guitar World	1 September 1981	The Reluctant Virtuoso (Guitar World 1981)	J.C. Costa
UCLA Daily Bruin	11 May 1982	From famine in England to waiting cult in California (Daily Bruin 1982)	Chris Hoard
Guitar World	1 March 1982	Trading Licks (“Fred” transcription, Guitar World 1982)	Scott Lindenmuth
Guitar World	1 November 1982	No Record Contract, No Big Hoopla, But The Fans Have Kept The Faith For Allan Holdsworth (Guitar World 1982)	Peter Mengaziol
Guitar Player	1 December 1982	Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1982)	Tom Mulhern
IMRW	1 December 1982	IMRW 1982
Yamaha Promotional	1 December 1982	Yamaha 1982	Uncredited
	31 December 1982	Unpublished piece by David Ashcraft (1982)	David Ashcraft
BAM	14 January 1983	A Different kind of Guitar Hero (BAM 1983)	Dave Zimmer
The Michigan Daily	1 September 1983	A chat with Holdsworth (Michigan Daily 1983)	Jay Dorrance
Music UK	1 November 1983	Allan Holdsworth (Music UK 1983)	Max Kay
The Georgia Straight	11 November 1983	Guitar Phenom Allan Holdsworth Says He’s Not That Impressed By Flash (The Georgia Straight 1983)	Steve Newton
Musician	1 January 1984	The Innocent Abroad (Musician 1984)	Jock Baird
Guitar Player	1 January 1984	Reflections On The Road (Guitar Player 1984)	Jeff Berlin
Guitar Player	1 February 1985	Solo Flights (Devil Take The Hindmost transcription, Guitar Player 1985)	Steve Vai
Los Angeles Times	15 February 1985	Allan Holdsworth: Guitarist Making Up Lost Time(Los Angeles Times 1985) (Direct link)	Don Snowden
UCLA Daily Bruin	15 February 1985	From his yodeling uncle to an I.O.U., an axeman cometh (Daily Bruin 1985)	Eric Potruch
Guitarist	1 May 1985	Allan Holdsworth (Guitarist 1985)	Neville Marten
Guitarist	1 May 1985	Crosstalk - Bill Aitken and Allan Holdsworth talk about SynthAxe (Guitarist 1985)	Neville Marten
Guitar World	1 September 1985	James Marshall Hendrix: Undisputed Master of the Electric Guitar (Guitar World 1985)	Unknown
downbeat	1 November 1985	Allan Holdsworth’s New Horizons (Downbeat 1985)	Bill Milkowski
Sym Info	1 May 1986	Never again a serial-production-group (Sym Info 1986)	Willebrord Elsing
Guitar Player	1 June 1986	Allan Holdsworth: Synthaxe (Guitar Player 1985)	Tom Mulhern
Cymbiosis	1 July 1986	"...Where No Guitarist Has Gone Before..." (Cymbiosis 1986)	Ric Levine
The Georgia Straight	4 July 1986	HUMBLE GUITAR MASTER ALLAN HOLDSWORTH ALWAYS STRUGGLES TO PAY THE RENT	Steve Newton
Creem	1 August 1986	His Weight, In Gold (Creem 1986)	Dan Hedges
Guitar World	1 June 1987	Guitar Like A Saxophone (Guitar World 1987)	Bill Milkowski
Music Technology	1 May 1987	Guitar Synths in Jazz (Music Technology 1987)	Rick Davies
Chitarre	1 September 1987	Chitarre 1987	Unknown
Guitar Club	1 October 1987	La tecnica al servizio del sentimento. (Guitar Club 1987, Italian) Technique In Service Of Feeling. (Guitar Club 1987, English)	Unknown
Sym Info	1 October 1987	I want to reach people with my music – common people. (Sym Info 1987)	Willebrord Elsing
LA Times	21 October 1987	Holdsworth Prefers Freedom Over Money (LA Times 1987)	Thomas K. Arnold
Guitarist	1 November 1987	Castles Made Of Sand (Guitarist 1987) (Direct link)	Neville Marten
LA Times	1 December 1987	Synthax Strikes the Right Chords for Holdsworth (LA Times 1987)	Zan Stewart
MUSIKER	1 January 1988	Avantgarde Figur (Musiker 1988) (Autotranslated)	Andreas Vahsen
The Telegraph	29 January 1988	British guitarist says being musician does not pay bills (Telegraph 1988)	Larry Nager
Boston Sound Report	15 February 1988	The Open End (Boston Sound Report 1988)	Mike and Doug
Guitar World	1 May 1989	The Unreachable Star (Guitar World 1989)	Matt Resnicoff
Guitar World	1 May 1989	Axes Of God (Guitar World 1989)	Matt Resnicoff
Guitar World	1 May 1989	Jimmy Johnson’s Bass Concept (Guitar World 1989)	Matt Resnicoff
Guitar World	1 May 1989	City Nights transcription (Guitar World 1989)	Dave Whitehill
Jazz Times	1 June 1989	Guitarist's Guitarist (Jazz Times 1989)	Don Heckman
English Tour Program	1 November 1989	Allan Holdsworth (English Tour Program 1989)	Neville Marten
English Tour Program	1 November 1989	Gary Husband (English Tour Program 1989)	Neville Marten
English Tour Program	1 November 1989	Jimmy Johnson (English Tour Program 1989)	Neville Marten
English Tour Program	1 November 1989	Steve Hunt (English Tour Program 1989)	Neville Marten
Guitar Player	1 January 1990	Future Of The Guitar (Guitar Player 1990)	Matt Resnicoff
Guitar Player	1 March 1990	Allan Holdsworth’s Untold Secrets + Worthy Quotes (Guitar Player 1990)	Matt Resnicoff
Guitar Player	1 March 1990	AH’s first solo on Joshua (Guitar Player 1990)	Mark Small
LA Times	6 March 1990	For Guitarist Allan Holdsworth, Perfection Is the Goal (LA Times 1990)	Jim Washburn
International Musician	1 April 1990	Avant Guitarist (lesson/transcriptions, International Musician 1990)	Mo Nazam?
Unknown station	1 July 1990	Holdsworth Radio Interview (1990)	Unknown reporter
Guitar Player	1 August 1990	Finding The Uncommon Chord (Miscellaneous transcriptions, Guitar Player 1990)	Paul Bordeaux
Facelift #2	1 March 1990	Allan Holdsworth (Overview 76-79, Facelift 1990)	Phil Howitt
Facelift #3	1 March 1990	Allan Holdsworth: In The 80’s (Overview, Facelift 1990)	Martin Mycock
The Guitar Magazine	1 September 1990	Allan Holdsworth: Track By Track (The Guitar Magazine 1990)	Unknown
IM&RW	1 March 1991	On The Level (IM&RW 1991)	Mo Nazam
Chitarre	1 May 1991	Chitarre 1991
Mike Pachelli Show (video transcript)	13 October 1991	Mike Pachelli Show (video transcript 1991)	Mike Pachelli
Guitar Player	1 January 1992	25 Who Shook The World (Compiled quotes, Guitar Player 1992)	Tom Mulhern
Guitar Extra	1 January 1992	No Secret (Guitar Extra 1992)	Andy Aledort
Guitar Extra	1 January 1992	White Line (complete transcription, Guitar Extra 1992)	?
Jazz Journal	1 May 1992	The Reluctant Guitarist (Jazz Journal 1992)	Mark Gilbert
The Daily Gazette	20 September 1992	Fastest guitarist to play at Charity's (Daily Gazette 1992)	Michael Hochanadel
Guitar World	1 November 1992	Crunchy Sound, Right Out Of The Box (Guitar World 1992)	Tom Mulhern
Guitar Club	1 November 1992	Il chitarrista dei chitarristi (Guitar Club 1992)	Bill Milkowski
The Guitar Magazine	1 December 1992	Interview Extra (The Guitar Magazine 1992)	Mo Nazam
1993 Whole Guitar Book	1 January 1993	Joe Satriani Meets Allan Holdsworth (Musician special edition 1993)	Matt Resnicoff
innerviews.org	1 January 1993	Creating Imaginary Backdrops (Innerviews 1993)	Anil Prasad
Guitar Player	1 February 1993	Blinded By Science (Guitar Player 1993)	Chris Gill
Guitar Player	1 February 1993	Line Games (Misc. transcriptions, Guitar Player 1993)	Jesse Gress
Guitar Player	1 May 1993	Unrewarded Geniuses (Guitar Player 1993, reader's letter regarding 1993 article)	Wayne Terdley
TGM	1 May 1993	Axe Maniax (TGM 1993)	Dominic Salmon
Yorkshire Post	25 May 1993	Heady mix from the guitar guru (Yorkshire Post 1993)	Reginald Brace
Strumenti Musicali	1 September 1993	Una Chitarra... Un Mito (Strumenti Musicali 1993, Italian)	Roberto Valentino
Guitar Player	1 November 1993	California Weenie vs. Mr Terdley (Guitar Player 1993, Allan's response to letter)	Allan Holdsworth
Atavachron web site	1 January 1994	Allan Holdsworth: An interview (Atavachron 1994)	Chris Hoard
Atavachron web site	1 January 1994	Allan Holdsworth: A biography (Atavachron 1994)	Chris Hoard
Guitar	1 July 1994	Makin’ Trax (Guitar 1994)	Jon Chappell
Facelift #12	1 August 1994	No Secrets (Facelift 1994)	Phil Howitt
Facelift #12	1 August 1994	Discography (Facelift 1994)	E Kord
Jazziz	1 August 1994	Allan Holdsworth Jam (Jazziz 1994)	Josef Woodard
Gitarre & Bass	1 November 1994	Individualist & Musiker (Gitarre & Bass 1994)	Lothar Trampert
Guitar Shop (Vol 1 #4)	1 January 1995	Allan Holdsworth: One Of A Kind (Guitar Shop 1995)	Max Cassileth
European Musician	1 January 1995	European Musician 1995	Lothar Trampert
The Age	15 May 1995	The Age (1995)	Leon Gettler
Guitarist	1 January 1996	Legends (misc. transcriptions, Guitarist 1996)	Adrian Clark
Guitar magazine	1 January 1996	Over the top, part 1 (Guitar 1996)	Jon Chappell
Guitar magazine	1 February 1996	Over the top, part 2 (Guitar 1996)	Jon Chappell
richardhallebeek.com/ Music Maker	1 May 1996	Allan Holdsworth Interview (richardhallebeek.com 1996)	Richard Hallebeek
Modern Drummer	1 August 1996	A Different View (Modern Drummer 1996)	Robyn Flans
The Guitar Magazine	1 September 1996	Holdsworth On Hollows (TGM 1996)	Dave Burrluck
Axe	1 November 1996	Axe 1996
Chitarre	1 November 1996	Intervista A Allan Holdsworth (Chitarre 1996)***	Mauro Salvatori
Guitar Techniques	1 December 1996	Legato Land (Guitar Techniques 1996)	Cliff Douse
MusikerMagasinet	1 December 1996	Med Siktet Innställt På Total Kontroll (MusikerMagasinet 1996, Swedish language)	Lars Reisdal
Home Recording	1 January 1997	At home in the Brewery (Home Recording 1997)	Jon Chappell
How To Play Guitar	1 January 1997	Guitar Astronaut (Reprint of Line Games from Guitar Player 1993)	Jesse Gress
EQ magazine	1 March 1997	Strong stuff from the brewery (EQ magazine 1997)	Alan Di Perna
Gitarre & Bass	1 June 1997	Allan Holdsworth (Gitarre Und Basse 1997)	Lothar Trampert
Guitar Club	1 July 1997	None Too Soon (Guitar Club 1997)	Fausto Forti
Gitara i Bas	1 Feb 1998	Mistrzowie Gitary (Gitara i Bas 1998)	Piotr Nowicki
Guitar Player	1 April 1998	Guitar Player (1998)
Guitar and Guitar Shop (Cherry Lane Music)	1 January 1999	Allan Holdsworth Remembers:"In The Dead Of Night" (Guitar and guitar shop 1999)	Uncredited
*Guitar.com	1 January 1999	The Outter Limits: Allan Holdsworth's Out of Bounds Existence (guitar.com 1999)	Bill Milkowski
Guitarist 100 Guitar Heroes.	1 January 2000	Allan Holdsworth (Guitarist 100 Guitar Heroes 2000)	Uncredited
audiostreet.infront.co.uk	1 January 2000	Audiostreet Featured Artists (Audiostreet 2000)	Mike Flynn
musired.com	1 January 2000	The Sixteen Men Of Tain (musired.com 2000, Spanish language)	Alex Belencoso
Yamaha website	1 January 2000	DG Player (Yamaha website 2000)	Uncredited
steveadelson.com	1 January 2000	Allan Holdsworth (steveadelson.com 2000)	Steve Adelson
NPS Radio Amsterdam	4 March 2000	Allan Holdsworth (NPS Radio transcript)	Paul Harvey
Guitarist Mag	1 April 2000	La Route Du Roc (Guitarist Mag 2000)	Franck Medioni
Gitarist (NL)	1 April 2000	Gitarist interview (NL) 2000	Michiel Roelse
Guitarra Total	1 April 2000	Guitarra De Vanguardia (2000)|***	Mariano Steimberg/Esteve Ripoll
Guitarrista	1 April 2000	Elegancia en la música (Guitarrista 2000)	Rafael Laclaustra
tlms.co.uk	1 April 2000	Allan Holdsworth in exclusive LMS interview (tlms.co.uk 2000)	Merlin Rhys Jones
World Music	1 April 2000	Culto a la guitarra (World Music 2000)	Jordi Planas
Chitarre	1 May 2000	Allan e i 16 custodi del segreto (Chitarre 2000)	Gianfranco Diletti
Classic Rock	1 May 2000	A beginners guide to (Classic Rock 2000)	Andy Robson
FUZZ Magazine	1 May 2000	Att söka det oförfalskade (FUZZ magazine 2000)	Author unknown
FUZZ Magazine	1 May 2000	Searching for purity (FUZZ magazine 2000)	Author unknown
Gitarre & Bass	1 May 2000	Gitarre & Bass (2000)	Lothar Trampert
Chitarre	1 June 2000	Chitarre 2000
Guitare Mag	1 June 2000	The Friendly Distortion (Guitare Mag 2000)	Ludovic Egraz
Guitar Player	1 June 2000	Pickups (Guitar Player 2000)	Shawn Hammond
Guitarist	1 June 2000	Whisky Galore (Guitarist 2000)	Neville Marten
Jazz Times	1 August 2000	One Man Of 'Trane (Jazz Times 2000)	Bill Milkowski
Twentieth Century Guitar Magazine	1 September 2000	Allan Holdsworth (Twentieth Century Guitar Magazine 2000)	Steve Adelson
*Guitar.com	1 January 2001	(Unconfirmed guitar.com 2001)	Bill Milkowski
Guitar Magazine?	1 July 2001	Untitled (Guitar Magazine? 2001)	Tsutomu Kurihara
Axe	1 May 2002	Axe 2002
Music Maker/ richardhallebeek.com	1 January 2003	Allan Holdsworth interview (Music Maker 2003)	Richard Hallebeek
ofeuillerat.free.fr	1 June 2003	Don’t you know? The Lost Words (Oneiric Moor 2003)	Olivier Feuillerat
Abstract Logix	19 August 2004	Allan Holdsworth interview (Abstract Logix 2004)	Abstract Logix
Guitar Player	1 November 2004	Patron Saint (Guitar Player 2004)	Darrin Fox
Guitare Live	1 April 2005	Le Magicien Des Accords (Guitare Live 2005)	Hervé Allesant
Guitar Player	1 October 2005	Parallel Lines (Guitar Player 2005)	Barry Cleveland
Jazz Italia	27 February 2005	Interview with Allan Holdsworth (Jazz Italia 2005)	Alex Milella
Abstract Logix	5 October 2005	A Conversation With Allan Holdsworth (Abstract Logix 2005)	Bill Milkowski
Vintage Guitar	1 December 2005	Fretprints Column (Vintage Guitar 2005)	Wolf Marshall
JazzHouston	9 February 2006	The Allan Holdsworth Interview! (Jazz Houston 2006)	Michael J. Morrison
Guitar Techniques	1 April 2007	Allan Holdsworth: Soloing	Pete Callard
20th Century Guitar	1 July 2007	No Rearview Mirrors (20th Century Guitar 2007)	Eric Paulos and Robert Silverstein
Guitar Player	1 March 2008	The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever (Guitar Player 2008)	Barry Cleveland
Innerviews	1 January 2008	Harnessing momentum (Innerviews 2008)	Anil Prasad
Montreal Gazette	1 September 2009	Montreal Gazette (2009)	Bernard Perusse
jazztimes.com	1 January 2010	Once Upon a Lifetime (Jazz Times 2010) (Direct link)	Bill Milkowski
Buffalo News	1 September 2010	Buffalo News (2010)	Jeff Miers
Gitarre & Bass	1 November 2010	Gitarre & Bass (2010)	Angela Ballhorn
The Jerusalem Post	10 November 2010	FUSION, ROCK AND SOMETHING ELSE (The Jerusalem Post 2017) (Direct link)	David Brinn
Sound Waves	1 April 2012	Allan Holdsworth (Sound Waves 2012) (Direct link)	Walter Modliszewski
Jazz Magazine	1 November 2012	Le Geant Modeste Et Son Croque-Monsieur (JazzMagazine 2012)	Félix Marciano
Guitar Player	30 January 2014	Allan Holdsworth on Reissuing FLATTire (Guitar Player 2014)	Barry Cleveland
Musicguy247	7 March 2017	Allan Holdsworth - Jazz/Fusion Guitarist (Musicguy247 2017)	Robert von Bernewitz
Downbeat	29 Mar 2017	In Memoriam: DownBeat’s Final Interview with Allan Holdsworth (Downbeat 2017) (Direct link)	Eric Harabadian
Friends Of Dan	18 April 2017	Allan Holdsworth Tribute (audio, Friends of Dan podcast 2017)	Dan Miles
ogdoo.gr	18 April 2017	Απεβίωσε στα 70 του ο πρωτοπόρος κιθαρίστας Allan Holdsworth	Γιάννης Αλεξίου
Gitarre & Bass	19 April 2017	Der Sound startet in deinem Kopf (Gitarre & Bass 2017)	Editors
Sittin' In With The Cat	22 April 2017	CAT Episode 009 - Allan Holdsworth (Sittin' In With The Cat 2017)	Sittin' In With The Cat
Guitaremag	28 April 2017	L’hommage de Jean-Marie Salhani à Allan Holdsworth (Guitaremag 2017)	Max Robin
Team Rock	24 May 2017	Allan Holdsworth: The final interview (Team Rock 2017) (Direct link)	Bill Kopp
Guitar World	30 June 2017	The Final Interview: Allan Holdsworth Talks SynthAxes, Jaw-Dropping Solos and More (Guitar World 2017) (Direct link)	Joe Lalaina
Musoscribe	15 August 2017	The Allan Holdsworth Interview (Musoscribe 2017) (Direct link)	Bill Kopp

Other

A Repair Shop Sparked a Revolution: The Charvel/Jackson Story (Reverb 2021)

Unpublished piece by David Ashcraft (1982)

Hear producer Dan Perloff talk to Dan Miles about the work that went into the box set, the "Live in Japan" album, as well as possibilities for future archival releases. Highly recommended!

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-hes-guitar-hero-among-guitarists-2009dec04-story.html

https://archive.org/details/modern-drummer-issue-201/page/n3/mode/2up/search/%22allan+holdsworth%22?q=%22allan+holdsworth%22

https://archive.org/search.php?query=%22allan+holdsworth%22&and%5B%5D=collection%3A%22magazine_rack%22&sin=TXT&page=4

https://www.axemagazine.it/Axe-rivista-chitarra/axe-rivista-chitarra-219/html5/index.html?page=24

Further sources

Magazines in the Internet Archive

Do you have a copy of these?

https://www.beatchapter.com/sound-international-feb-1981-the-beat-allan-holdsworth-hofner-guitar-history-10084-p.asp

https://www.beatchapter.com/beat-instrumental-magazine-august-1979-status-quo-only-ones-allan-holdsworth-jim-burns-wild-horses-10074-p.asp

https://www.beatchapter.com/international-musician--recording-world-magazine-june-1978-carmine-appice-glyn-johns-nazareth-12424-p.asp