Former Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes has died aged 65. The news was confirmed in a press release on its Facebook page.
The statement read: “It is with great sadness that we share the passing of John Sykes after a fierce battle with cancer. He will be remembered by many as a man of exceptional musical talent, but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a caring, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.
“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 to his fans who stood by him all these years.
“Even though the impact of his loss is profound and the mood dark, we hope that the light of his memory extinguishes the shadow of his absence.”
Sykes was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1959, and took up the guitar as a teenager, inspired by the music of Eric Clapton. He joined his first group, Streetfighter, in 1978, with whom he recorded only one song, She’s not an angelwhich appeared on the first NWOBHM compilation New Electric Warriors in 1980. The same year, he joined Tygers Of Pan Tang and played on their second and third albums, Bewitched And Crazy nights.
After leaving Tygers in 1982, Sykes recorded a solo single, Please don’t leave me, with a group that also included three members of Thin Lizzy: mainman Phil Lynott, keyboardist Darren Wharten and drummer Brian Downey. She was quickly asked to join Lizzy in replacing the deceased Snow White.
Sykes’ only album with the band was their final release.Thunder and lightning The energy crackled as Sykes showcased some of his NWOBHM stylings to create what was Thin Lizzy’s heaviest album.
“I feel sorry for John,” said Scott Gorham Classic rock in 2020. “We knew it would be our last album. I don’t think we told John because we couldn’t believe it ourselves, but it was definitely going downhill. John was shortchanged on all of this.”
When Lizzy broke up, Sykes had initially planned to continue working with Lynott in his new band Grand Slam, but an invitation to join David Coverdale’s Whitesnake in early 1984 was accepted in time for Sykes to add guitar parts to Slip it in, which of the group The American record company refused to publish it.
“I wanted Whitesnake to be leaner, meaner and more electrifying,” Coverdale said. Metal hammer in 2009. “I felt like we did an amazing job. We had made six albums in just a few years. We did a fabulous job on those albums, but it really felt like we were whipping a dead snake. For me personally, I felt it was time for a change. I didn’t want to stay in the same old traditional blues and pop scenario.
“It was just my choice as an artist. I wanted to pursue a different direction. That was my whole modus operandi. The reason I invited John Sykes into the band was to really allow myself that transition, or someone like that and it turned out to be Sykes And that was it.
Slip it in ultimately sold over six million copies worldwide and the following album, 1987was even bigger, selling over eight million copies in the United States alone.
Despite the success, Sykes’ relationship with Coverdale was strained and he was fired at this time. 1987 had been released. He formed Blue Murder, which released three albums: their self-titled (1989), Nothing but trouble (1993) and the live album Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott in 1994.
Blue Murder was dropped by their label after the live album’s release and Sykes formed a new touring version of Thin Lizzy, joined by Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Darren Wharton. The following year, he launched a solo career and released his first album. Out of my tree in 1995.
Sykes’ last solo album dates from the 2000s Nuclear Cowboyand, after two decades of silence, he reappears in 2021 with two new singles, The dawn of a brand new day And Alive, promising that more documents were on the way. It never arrived.