Allan Holdsworth went from a fairly battered SG Custom in Soft Machine (as did his replacement, John Etheridge) and wound up using a Strat, modded with dual Dimarzios, with Bruford. He then went over to the tiny Carvin guitars he still uses.
Maybe those guys just broke their Gibsons? The rigors of touring, especially as a 2nd tier act, probably saw a lot of headstocks getting broken in the back of the van, etc.
Allan actually had 3 SG´s at different times, i think 2 customs and a standard. At the time he only had one at a time, he just could not afford to have a lot of guitars. I believe the strat move was due to tremolo use, he liked the sound and playability of the SG´s. But the last SG he had, he had customized with a paint job - but Tony Williams sold it when Allan was on vacation in England:-)
Personally, I think the sound he had with a custom SG plugged into a head and cab is unbeatable, though listening to him is magic even today. He confirmed the SG story last time I met him in Oslo. The white three pickup custom he used with soft machine I think still belongs to a US recording studio.