British guitarist John Sykes has died at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer. He appeared on two Whitesnake albums and composed some of the band’s best-known songs with his colleagues.
British guitarist John Sykes has died at the age of 65 Photo: johnsykes.com
The announcement was made on his website and social media pages: “He will be remembered by many as a man of exceptional musical talent, but to those who did not know him personally, he was a caring, kind man and charismatic”.
Also, in his final days, he expressed “love and gratitude for his fans“.
“He certainly went at his own pace and always stood up for the underdog. In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who have stuck by him all these years“, the announcement also states.
He appeared on two Whitesnake albums and co-wrote some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Still Of The Night” and “Is This Love”.
John Sykes began his career in 1980 with heavy metal band Tygers Of Pan Tang, recording two albums before joining Thin Lizzy in 1982. He sang on the 1983 album ‘Thunder and Lightning’ before accompanying frontman Phil Lynott on a European tour with a separate group called The Three Musketeers.
In 1984, he joined Whitesnake at the invitation of founder and frontman David Coverdale, recording tracks for the album “Slide It In” and later for the self-titled album in 1987, which was a success, reports the BBC.
After leaving Whitesnake, he released two albums with his own group, Blue Murder, and later formed a version of Thin Lizzy, which had broken up in the years before Lynott’s death in 1986.
Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale shared a series of photos of himself and Sykes together during Whitesnake’s heyday. “Just heard the shocking news of John’s death… My sincere condolences to his family, friends and fans…”, he said.
Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash also shared a photo of Sykes performing on social media and wrote: “RIP”.
