John Sykes, a veteran hard rock guitarist who was a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Pan Tang’s Tygers, has died, according to a post on his official Facebook page. He had been battling cancer for several years; he was 65 years old.
A fiery guitarist and powerful vocalist with a mane of wavy blonde hair, Sykes is best known for his work on Whitesnake’s 1987 self-titled seventh album, for which he co-wrote nearly every track, including the hit singles “Still of the Night” and “Is This”. Love” – and played all the guitars. However, he was fired from the band before the album’s release, due to disagreements with frontman David Coverdale, and saw two other guitarists miming his parts in the song’s videos and touring extensively with the band during its tenure. peak years.
The message on his page reads: “It is with great sadness that we share that John Sykes has passed away after a tough battle with cancer. Many will remember him as a man of exceptional musical talent, but for those who did not 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 shot for the underdog. In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude to his fans who stayed by his side 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. »
Born in Reading, England, in 1959 and raised partly in Spain, Sykes began playing guitar as a teenager and launched his professional career with a band called Streetfighter in the late 1970s, after moving to Blackpool, in the north of England. He left that band to join Pan Tang’s Tygers, who were popular during the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” era of the early 1980s and also spawned Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and many other groups. He played on three of the group’s albums and left the band in early 1982, but was contractually obligated to record two more songs for the group’s label, MCA.
After Sykes unsuccessfully auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, Tygers producer Chris Tsangarides put him in touch with Phil Lynott, singer-songwriter of Thin Lizzy, who were extremely popular at the time and held an ever-changing position as second lead guitarist. The members of Thin Lizzy performed on a solo single by Sykes that fulfilled his contract, and he was asked to join the group.
Sykes brought a distinctly heavy metal feel to the band’s last album, “Thunder and Lightning,” which did not please many fans, but Lizzy was in a downward spiral, mainly due to Lizzy’s heroin addiction. Lynott (which ultimately led to his death in early 1986), and the band broke up in 1983.
While he intended to continue working with Lynott, Sykes instead chose to join Whitesnake in early 1984. He added guitar parts to the band’s “Slide It In” album and performed with them for a world tour, but Coverdale fired the entire band afterwards. the self-titled album was recorded and bundled with Dio alumni Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot and Vandenberg. Driven by Sykes’ co-written songs and their videos, this album became a worldwide success and Whitesnake was a major draw for the next two years, although their follow-up album was unsuccessful.
Sykes formed the band Blue Murder with veteran drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tony Franklin, although the band only lasted two albums. In later years, he was seen as Def Leppard’s replacement for the late guitarist Steve Clark (although the role went to Vivian Campbell, who, ironically, had replaced him in Whitesnake) before pursuing a solo career and fronting a Lynott-less incarnation of Thin Lizzy for several years.
Sykes also unsuccessfully auditioned for Guns N’ Roses in 2009 and continued to work on solo material in the years before his death.
