John Sykes, Whitesnake & Thin Lizzy Guitarist, Dies Aged 65
John Sykes, the highly-respected hard rock guitarist, best known for his work with Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy, has died at the age of 65.
The British musician “passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer” a statement released following his death shared.
It described him as a “thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room” and said that, in his final days, he had expressed a “sincere love and gratitude for his fans”.
The statement on Sykes’s official website read: “He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog. In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years. While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood sombre, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”
John Sykes was born in Reading on 29 July 1959. A fan of Eric Clapton and the blues in general, he first played guitar in a band called Streetfighter, also featuring future Diamond Head bassist Mervyn Goldsworthy. However, he first came to prominence in 1980 having joined UK metal band Tygers Of Pan Tang, with whom he recorded two albums, Spellbound and Crazy Nights before joining Thin Lizzy in 1982.
He played on the band’s final studio album, 1983’s Thunder and Lightning (co-writing the record’s spin-off hit Cold Sweat) before accompanying frontman the band on their lengthy final tour which culminated in emotional performances at the Reading Festival and the Nuremburg Monsters Of Rock Festival, which became Thin Lizzy’s final concert in September 1983. The tour also spawned the spin-off live album Life.
After that, Sykes joined Whitesnake in 1984 at the invitation of founder and frontman David Coverdale. The guitarist contributed to their Slide It In album. The record became Whitesnake’s first major success in the United States, selling over half a million copies. Sykes played a key role in the group’s newfound success, with a more vibrant look and sound compared to the band’s previous guitar players.
Sykes was also heavily involved in the writing and recording of Whitesnake’s self-titled 1987 release which went on to become a huge critical and commercial success. The album became the band’s most commercially successful to date, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and selling over eight million copies in the US.
After leaving Whitesnake, Sykes released two albums with his own group, Blue Murder. After parting ways with Geffen Records in 1994, Sykes signed with the Japanese branch of Mercury Records and released several solo albums including Out of My Tree in 1995 and Loveland in 1997. He later formed a touring version of Thin Lizzy which had disbanded in the years before Lynott’s death in 1986.
Paying tribute on X (formerly known as Twitter), Coverdale shared a number of photos of himself and Sykes together in Whitesnake’s heyday. He wrote: “Just heard the shocking news of John’s passing…My sincere condolences to his family, friends & fans…”
Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash shared a picture of Sykes performing and wrote simply: “RIP”.