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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Charlie Griffiths

Allan Holdsworth blew the minds of Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and a generation of guitar heroes – and his extraordinary fretboard hacks are still inspiring players today

Allan Holdsworth.

Allan Holdsworth was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1946. An early member of bands like Soft Machine and UK, in the ’80s he released a slew of masterpiece albums that changed the landscape of jazz and fusion guitar. His style was so influential that his name is mentioned by the likes of Van Halen, Satriani, and Vai as one of the greatest guitarists to have walked the planet.

Allan had a linear melodic style that defied tradition. He also possessed a unique self-taught perception of theory and and the guitar fretboard, quite removed from the more formulated structures we are used to today. 

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