R.I.P. John Sykes (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder)

One of blues rock’s unsung, but no less accomplished guitar heroes, John Sykes, has passed away at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. Sykes is best known for his work with band Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, his own trio Blue Murder, and for his solo work.

The news broke via the guitarist’s Facebook page:

“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer. He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a thoughtful, 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,” it continued. “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 somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”

John Sykes was born in Reading, Berkshire, UK on July 29, 1959, and initially took interest in guitar at age fourteen, when an uncle taught him a few Eric Clapton riffs and he would continue practicing them on an old nylon-stringed guitar, eventually joining a band called Streetfighter.

He would leave that band to join Tygers of Pan Tang, a Whitley Bay UK band that had become part of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal, playing on their second and third albums, Spellbound and Crazy Nights, as their second guitarist before leaving to audition to play with Ozzy Osborne.

Sykes would connect with Thin Lizzy’s singer/guitarist Phil Lynott to collaborate on the single, “Please Don’t Leave Me” in 1982, and was asked to join the band soon after. Thin Lizzy would break up by 1983 (with Lynott passing away in 1986) and Sykes agreed to join David Coverdale in Whitesnake (after Coverdale’s talks with Michael Schenker and Adrian Vandenberg fell through).

Sykes played on most songs on the band’s arguably two best albums, “Slide It In" and the '1987' self-titled record (co-writing most on this one, which is still their best-selling) before tensions and delays found Coverdale firing everyone before the latter album’s release (and why the music videos show different personnel).

Sykes would go on to form Blue Murder with bassist Tony (The Firm) Franklin and drummer Carmine (Vanilla Fudge) Appice releasing two studio and one live album, before embarking on a solo career in the mid-90’s. Five albums would follow, and his last releases were two separate singles in 2021. Sykes leaves behind his three sons, James, John Jr, and Sean and his former wife.

courtesy Richard Aaron / Getty