John Sykes, the British hard rock guitarist best known for his time in Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has passed away. Sykes' social-media pages reported his passing yesterday, saying that Sykes died after a "hard fought battle with cancer." Sykes was 65.
John Sykes mostly grew up in Reading, and he took up the guitar as a teenager. After moving to Blackpool, Sykes joined the band Streetfighter, whose song "She's No Angel" appeared on the 1980 compilation New Electric Warriors. Soon afterward, Sykes joined New Wave Of British Heavy Metal standouts Tygers Of Pan Tang, and he played on their two 1981 albums, Spellbound and Crazy Nights. Soon afterward, he split with the group.
In 1982, Sykes released his solo single "Please Don't Leave Me," which he co-wrote with Thin Lizzy leader Phil Lynott. That led to Sykes joining Thin Lizzy, playing on their 1983 album Thunder And Lightning, and co-writing their UK hit "Cold Sweat." Thin Lizzy broke up later in 1983, and Lynott died in 1986. Soon after Thin Lizzy ended, Sykes agreed to join Whitesnake. He added guitar parts the the US release of their 1984 album Slide It In, and he co-wrote most of the songs on their self-titled 1987 album, a massive hit that went platinum eight times over. Whitesnake leader David Coverdale fired Sykes, along with every other member of the group, before the LP's release.
After being ejected from Whitesnake, John Sykes started a new band called Blue Murder, who made a few albums. In 1994, Sykes reunited with the former members of Thin Lizzy and acted as frontman for a new version of the band, which he led until 2009. He also released a number of solo albums over the years. Below, check out some of John Sykes' work.
