John Sykes, the rock guitarist and singer who played with Thin Lizzy before joining Whitesnake on their breakthrough 1987 album and later forming Blue Murder, has died of cancer. He was 65 years old.
The news was confirmed on Sykes' Facebook page, but no other details were provided including the date of death.
“He will be remembered by many as a man of exceptional musical talent, but for those who did not know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind and engaging man whose presence lit up a room.” The statement reads in part. “He definitely marched to the beat of his own drum and always gravitated toward the underdog.”
Born on July 29, 1959 in Reading, England, Sykes began playing guitar as a teenager, inspired by a group of British axemen of the late 1960s. He played with the metal band Tygers of Pan Tang in the early 1980s before joining Phil Lynott in Thin Lizzy for their twelfth album. Thunder and lightning It charted at No. 5 in the UK, supported by the Top 30 hit “Cold Sweat”, which Sykes co-wrote, but sold poorly in the US. The 1983 compilation would be Thin Lizzy's last studio disc, with the band disbanding by the end of the year.
The following year, Sykes was approached to join former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale's band Whitesnake. After some debate, he agreed to play with the new group and cut some songs for the US release of their 1984 album. Enter it. It was the fifth of eight consecutive UK top 10 albums for the band and the first to go platinum in the US, fueled by the FM blues hit “Slow An'Easy”.
But the band was on the verge of its biggest commercial success, with Sykes playing a major role – despite being officially kicked out of the group.
Related video deadline:
Coverdale and Sykes began writing tracks for what would become Whitesnake's seventh album. It was released under different titles in different parts of the world but arrived in the United States as an eponymous effort. Sykes co-wrote all but two of the songs on the 1987 disc, including the No. 2 pop hit “Is This Love?”, the video for which featured MTV favorite Coverdale's girlfriend Tawny Kitaen.
RELATED: Tawny Kitaen Dies: Whitesnake Video Vixen & 'Seinfeld' Actress Was 59
This album also included the hit single “Here I Go Again”, which went to number one in the US, along with rock tracks including “Crying in the Rain”, “Still of the Night” and “Give Me All Your Love”. “. White snake It spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at number 2 in the US, selling over 8 million copies, and ranked at number 10 in the United Kingdom.
White snake It is among a group of great albums from the glam-filled hair metal era, and many of its songs are still heard on classic rock radio.
But the lead up to its recording and release saw a falling out between Coverdale, Sykes and the rest of the band, leading to them all being fired. Despite their strong musical chemistry, the lead singer and guitarist couldn't get along and would never work together again.
Sykes then recruited The Firm alum Tony Franklin on bass and Vanilla Fudge and Rod Stewart veteran Carmine Appice to form Blue Murder. The trio's 1989 debut on Geffen Records featured Sykes on lead vocals and launched “Jelly Roll” into mainstream American rock, reaching the Top 70 in the US and Top 50 in the UK. . 1994 follow-up album Nothing but trouble, Sykes and a new supporting state emerged but failed to chart on either side of the pond.
Sykes left Geffen later that year and released the first of five single compilations in 1995, but none of them were able to match the sales he had seen earlier in his career.
