John Sykes, a former member of both Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has died at age 65. An official statement confirmed that Sykes had been diagnosed 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,” according to the statement. “He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog.”
Sykes appeared on Thin Lizzy’s harder-edged 1983 album Thunder and Lightning, the group’s Top 5 U.K. hit studio finale with the late frontman Phil Lynott. Sykes then joined Whitesnake for a two-LP mid-’80s stint that began with the reworked 1984 edition of Slide It In.
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He co-wrote all but two songs on 1987’s eight-times platinum international Top 10 hit Whitesnake, including the No. 2 U.S. smash “Is This Love.” But unfortunately, his relationship with singer David Coverdale was strained from the beginning.
“John was and is an incredible talent,” Coverdale later argued. “Our musical chemistry was great, but it didn’t work personally. The truth of the matter is no matter how incredible of an album that we made together, we were unable to connect as people.”
Coverdale later shared a heartfelt message today upon hearing the sad news.
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Sykes later took over vocals when Thin Lizzy reunited in 1996, releasing One Night Only in 2000. He remained in the lineup until 2009. “You know, we go out and pay our respects to Phil Lynott,” Sykes told Melodic Rock in 1999. “He wrote damn good songs. It’s just a great pleasure to go out and play and think of him. Like a group of old veterans, we tell a few lies and have a few laughs, go and play the tunes and it’s great.”
Prior to working with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, Sykes recorded two albums with Tygers of Pan Tang including Spellbound and Crazy Nights, both from 1981. Sykes also appeared on two tracks from 1982’s The Cage, though he’d had already departed. He later formed Blue Murder with bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice.
Sykes released five solo albums including 2004’s Bad Boy Live!, which featured updates of material from Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott, from 1994, also touched on earlier career highlights.
“In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years,” according to the official statement confirming Sykes’ death. “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.”
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Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp
