Guitarist John Sykes has passed away at the age of 65 after "a tough battle with cancer," as announced on his website, which highlights his "exceptional musical talent" and kindness.
John Sykes started his career in 1980 with the "new wave of British heavy metal" band, The Tygers of Pan Tang. After two years of albums and tours with the Tygers, John auditioned for a position in the classic rock band Thin Lizzy, where he successfully landed the role of the new lead guitarist alongside Scott Gorham.
John joined Thin Lizzy in 1982 and performed on the album Thunder & Lightning, as well as on the album Life Live and on a live album recorded by the BBC of the band's final show at the Reading Festival in 1983. After this "farewell" tour, John joined Phil Lynott for Phil's solo tour in Europe with a band called The Three Musketeers.
He was soon discovered by David Coverdale and was then invited to join the band Whitesnake, but initially turned down the role due to his loyalty to Philip Lynott and Thin Lizzy. After more calls and conversations (and a personal blessing from Lynott), John finally joined Whitesnake and appeared on the U.S. release of the album Slide It In. The band toured extensively to promote the album and ended the tour in front of 500,000 people atRock in Rio in 1985. The show was broadcast to millions of viewers on television throughout South America.
Whitesnake's next album was the self-titled 1987 album, which included Sykes' phenomenal guitar performance, as well as his songwriting talent. The album sold approximately 20 million copies worldwide. John co-wrote the entire album with classic hits like Still of the Night and Is This Love, which are still played on the radio. A collectible for the 30th anniversary of the 1987 album was released at the end of 2017, including original recordings and session photographs.
After leaving Whitesnake, John returned to England and formed the critically acclaimed supergroup Blue Murder. The band featured bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice. Their debut album not only showcased John's fiery and melodic guitar playing but also his excellent voice. The material ranged from epic rock songs like Valley of the Kings to more pop-oriented songs like Jelly Roll. A follow-up album by Blue Murder titled Nothing But Trouble featured newly recruited bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy O'Steen. The album toured extensively and was highly successful, as stated on the official website.
In 2006, Gibson Guitars paid tribute to John Sykes by producing a Gibson Les Paul Signature Inspired By, inspired by Sykes' 1970s Les Paul Custom with two versions.
Throughout most of his career, the guitarist "had a special fondness for Gibson Les Paul and for most of his career, he used the same black Les Paul Custom," but his main guitar was a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom, which was quite worn out after decades of touring with it.
He had been residing in Los Angeles lately and in recent years had been writing material and preparing for the release of a new album titled Sy-Ops.
"For those who did not know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room," according to his website, which, in addition to his successful professional career, wanted to highlight his closest friends through his official page, where they confess, after his passing, to be in a "somber mood" but with the hope that "the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence."
Of his last days battling cancer, it was said that John Sykes "spoke of his sincere love and gratitude towards his fans who supported him throughout all these years."