When Bradford Rocked
ALLAN’S EARLY CAREER IN “WHEN BRADFORD ROCKED” BY DEREK A.J. LISTER
“When Bradford Rocked” is a book written by Derek Lister, primarily covering Bradford’s rock’n’roll scene from 1954 to 1966. It appears to have been originally published in 2012. It contains a detailed account of the early bands that Allan played in that does not seem to be available anywhere else. The acknowledgements page (p. 12) states that a lot of the information on Allan’s early career was provided by Cliff Dutton, who played with Allan in a band called the Crusaders.
The following text, as well as the pictures, have been extracted from a pdf of the book that is freely available on the website “When Bradford Rocked”. At the bottom, you will find some comments on the text, as well as links to very rare recordings of the Crusaders featuring Allan from 1966.
EXCERPT OF “WHEN BRADFORD ROCKED”
Allan Holdsworth - Pop Musician
Allan Holdsworth was born in Idle, Bradford, in 1946. Encouraged by his grandfather (an amateur musician), as a young lad Allan became very proficient with the guitar, and aged sixteen began to play in local club-based groups in the region, honing his future guitar skills.
In 1962 Allan joined Margie and the Sundowners, and in 1963 formed Black Diamonds. However, this group split because they got no bookings and had no transport. In March 1964 he joined Mick Judge and the Jurymen, and was with them from June until September, when they went to Butlin's for the season. In 1965, having left the Jurymen, Allan started guitar classes for young teenagers, at the same time becoming a member of The Crusaders. He played locally as well as going on tour with them to Germany.
In June 1966 Allan worked at the Mecca in Bradford with the Graham Warner Band, and later that year joined the Dave Allan Collection (ex-Crusader). In September Allan married Angela. In April 1967 he played his final week with the Dave Allan Collection, and around this time his daughter Lynn was born.
In 1968 Allan was back with the Graham Warner Band at the Mecca, and in 1969 he formed his first serious band, 'Igginbottom, with mates at his parents' house on Thorpe Edge estate. They did a regular Monday night residency at the Old Oak Tree pub near Kirkstall in Leeds. In June of that year they recorded a LP entitled 'Igginbottom's Wrench. In July they were playing at the famous Ronnie Scott's in London, and at about this time 'Igginbottom's Wrench was released. In August the group played at a guitar festival for a month, but in November they broke up.
At the beginning of the 1970s Allan joined Glen South's Magic Roundabout (based in Sunderland), and was with them when they moved to the Manchester Ritz ballroom in 1971. In 1972 he left the group, and went to London at the request of Ray Warleigh (sax and flute). Later he was invited by Pat Smythe (piano) to join him in the Tubby Hayes Quartet to make a TV commercial. Around this time Allan recorded his first BBC radio Jazz Club, in which he played the guitar and also a violin, which he had bought for £3 and learned to play just four months earlier.
Also in 1972 Allan played with Ian Carr's Nucleus and recorded the LP Belladonna. Back at Ronnie Scott's he supported Barney Kessel, John Williams, the classical guitarist, and Flamenco guitarist Paco Pena. Later that year the BBC asked Allan to represent them at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Allan's career went from strength to strength in the world of modern jazz, and he became a world-renowned virtuoso guitarist and composer. He has released ten studio albums and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but is best known for his work in jazz fusion. It is ironic that this Bradford guitarist, despite being widely regarded by fans and fellow musicians as one of the twentieth century's most prominent and extraordinarily innovative guitarists, with his own trademark sound, is hardly known in his home town.
A long way from Thorold House, Thorpe Edge, Idle, Allan has lived in California since the early 1980s.
A FEW COMMENTS ON THE TEXT:
Allan very rarely talked about the early days of playing in bands in Bradford. The only place where Allan names some of these bands is in a 2000 radio interview with Paul Harvey on NPS Amsterdam, where he says: “I still did play with a lot of local bands in that town, Jimmy Judge and the Jurymen, they’re all like funny names, haha, Margie and the Sundowners, all these people, it’s great, I’ll have to ask them what they’re all doing. But that was more like playing in working men’s clubs and just doing the cover tunes.” (Note: It was actually “Mick Judge”.)
Allan never mentioned touring in Germany in 1965. By Allan’s account, he was working various day jobs after leaving school, only playing with bands in the evenings and on weekends. He has stated many times that his career as a professional musician only started when he joined the Glen South band around 1970. The account above seems to suggest that he at least played semi-professionally during his Bradford years.
The text says that Allan’s father was an amateur musician. This might be technically true, but according to Allan, Sam Holdsworth had been a professional musician, and worked in the Air Force band during the war. After the war, he was offered to go to London, much in the same way that Allan later was. But Sam decided to get a day job and stay with his family in Bradford.
One Bradford band that the text does not mention is The Museum, formed in 1967. There is a picture of them on the Zany Woodruff website. It is entirely possible that there were more bands in Bradford before 1970.
Most of what is written about Allan’s career since moving to London is well known, although more details are always welcome. Many thanks to Derek Lister and Cliff Dutton for filling in some of the blanks in Allan’s early history.
Recordings with the Crusaders
As it happens, two rare and very early recordings from Allan’s days with the Crusaders survive, and have been published on YouTube. It is a long way from the Allan Holdsworth of IOU, Tony Williams, Soft Machine and even Igginbottom. Allan was constantly moving forward, and rarely looked back. These recordings prove that Allan worked hard for his achievements.
Allan Holdsworth plays Blue Skies with The Crusaders in 1966 - before fame came his way.
Guitar Legend Allan Holdsworth with The Crusaders - 1966
