Guitarist John Sykes, who played in important British hard rock bands such as Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy in the 1980s, has died at the age of 65. He recorded some very successful records with them and continued to play a role in that scene well into the 1990s.
The exact date of his death has not been revealed on his official website, which states he passed away in 2024 after a long battle with cancer. “We will remember him as a man of exceptional musical talent, and for those who did not know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up the atmosphere.”
Sykes, born in 1959 in Reading, England, lived for a few years in Ibiza, where his father and uncle had a discotheque. There, young Sykes learned some Eric Clapton riffs from his uncle and he was hooked. Back in England he played in small bands until he was asked to join Tygers or Pan Tang. He recorded two albums with them in 1981, Spellbound and Crazy Nights.
World tour
He quit the band a year later, frustrated by the lack of success and the rest of the band’s desire to achieve it. He tried his hand at several other bands, until he was asked to join the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy at the end of 1982. He played on the albums Thunder and lightning and live record Lifeand joined frontman Phil Lynott’s solo tour just before the band broke up in 1983. Three years later, Lynott died at the age of 36. In 1994, Sykes reformed Thin Lizzy with other former members, as a tribute to Lynott and without new material.
In the meantime, Sykes was attracted by Whitesnake, with which he immediately went on a world tour and was able to record for Slide It In (1984). His fingerprints are all over the album they subsequently wrote (simply Whitesnake), which would become their most successful – until frontman (formerly of Deep Purple) David Coverdale fired everyone. Years later, Coverdale tried again with Sykes, but he didn’t feel like it anymore and started his own band, Blue Murder, and did session work. For example, he sang on a Def Leppard record. In addition, Sykes had his solo career.
Sykes was married and had three sons. In 2004 he was promoted Guitar World named one of the 100 best heavy metal guitarists of all time.