The legendary English guitarist John Sykes (TYGERS OF PAN TANG, THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, SYKES) has died at the age of 65.
„It is with great sadness that we share that John Sykes has passed away after a long battle with cancer. 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 thoughtful, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room. In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who had been by his side all these years. While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood is somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.
This message appeared on January 20th on Sykes' social media.
In 2021, Sykes released videos for his new songs "Dawning Of A Brand New Day" and "Out Alive", which were supposed to be part of a new album called "Sy-Ops".
It was also expected to include other songs such as "Believe In Yourself" and "My Guitar".
Speaking to Reality Check TV at the Hall Of Heavy Metal History event in January 2019, in Anaheim, California, Sykes stated of his absence from the rock scene: “I'm looking forward to getting on the road and playing again. I'm itching to get back and playing. I'm looking forward to it“.
Sykes's tour band was expected to include his former BLUE MURDER bandmate Tony Franklin (bass) and Fred Boswell (drums).
In 1982, Sykes auditioned for a new guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne following the death of Randy Rhoads. He was not accepted into the "Prince of Darkness" band, but in the same year, the 23-year-old Sykes received an offer from Phil Lynott to join THIN LIZZY in place of the departed Snowy White.
Sykes participated in the creation and recording of the band's last album - Thunder and Lightning (1983), where he co-wrote the song “Cold Sweat“.
The guitarist went on a tour with the band in support of the new album, which lasted until the end of 1983, from which the live album Life was released. After the tour ended, the band broke up.
The most famous part of John Sykes's work is related to his participation in WHITESNAKE, where he co-wrote nine of the songs on the band's seventh studio album of the same name, released in 1987. He created the ballad "Is This Love", which became the number 1 hit "Here I Go Again". The album sold over eight million copies in the US alone.
David Coverdale kicked Sykes out of WHITESNAKE, along with bassist Neil Murray and drummer Ainsley Dunbar, before the album was even released.
In 2017, Sykes admitted that he was still "very bitter" about how Coverdale had treated him. "David didn't say anything to any of us that he was going to kick us out of the band," the guitarist told Rock Candy magazine, claiming he just found out he was no longer a part of the band.
Sykes announced his departure from THIN LIZZY in July 2009, explaining that "I feel like it's time to get back to playing my own music."
Back in 2012, Sykes backed out of a planned collaboration with DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy and MR. BIG bassist Billy Sheehan.
Two years ago, Sykes' former BLUE MURDER bandmate Carmine Apice said on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he had not had any contact with Sykes despite repeated attempts to contact the guitarist. "I think he's done with music," the drummer said at the time. "I've been texting him; I'm not getting anything back. I don't know. Maybe he's mad at me for some reason. But I've been talking to BLUE MURDER bassist Tony Franklin, and he hasn't heard from him either."
BLUE MURDER were formed by Sykes and released two studio albums - 1989's self-titled album and 1993's follow-up "Nothin' But Trouble" - before calling it quits.