Rock Guitarist John Sykes Passes Away At The Age Of 65

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Legendary rock guitarist John Sykes passed away at the age of 65. John Sykes cause of death was a hard-fought battle with cancer.

John Sykes started his career in 1980 with the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” band, The Tygers of Pan Tang. After two years John auditioned for the classic rock band Thin Lizzy.

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John joined Thin Lizzy in 1982 and performed on the album,” Thunder & Lightning” as well as the “Live Life” album and a live album recorded by the BBC of the band’s last show at the Reading festival in 1983. After this “farewell” tour, John joined Phil Lynott for Phil’s solo tour of Europe in a band dubbed, The Three Musketeers.

David Coverdale invited Sykes to join the band Whitesnake. He originally turned the offer but eventually, John Sykes joined Whitesnake and appeared on the U.S. release of the “Slide It In” album. The band toured constantly supporting the album and ended the tour in front of 500,000 people at “Rock in Rio” in 1985. The show was broadcast to millions of people on television throughout South America.

Whitesnake’s next album was the self-titled 1987 release. The album featured Sykes’ phenomenal guitar playing and his diverse songwriting talents. The album went on to sell approximately 20 million copies worldwide. John co-wrote the entire album with classic hits such as “Still of the Night” and “Is This Love” which are still widely played on radio today.

“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.”

“He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog. In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years.
While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”