The music world says goodbye to guitarist John Sykes, known for his time with bands such as Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy. The artist has died at the age of 65 from cancer, as stated in the official statement published on his website
“It is with great sadness that we announce that John Sykes has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Many will remember him as a man of exceptional musical talent, but for those who did not know him personally, he was a caring, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room,” the statement said.
In his final days, the musician expressed “his sincere love and gratitude to his fans, who supported him throughout the years”. He was a person who “marched to the beat of his own drum and always supported the underdog”. “Although the impact of his loss is profound and the atmosphere sombre, we hope that the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence,” the farewell text concludes.
John Sykes, a music legend
The guitarist took his first steps with heavy metal band Tygers Of Pan Tang in 1980. He recorded two albums with the group before joining Thin Lizzy two years later, enjoying great success alongside Scott Gorham. Sykes recorded the albums ‘Thunder & Lightning’ and Live Life’, as well as a live album recorded by the BBC of the band’s last concert at Reading.
In 1984, David Coverdale noticed Sykes and asked him to join the band Whitesnake, with whom he made the album ‘Slide it in’, as well as a tour in front of 500,000 people at Rock in Rio in 1985. He later formed the group Blue Murder. His last song was released after more than 20 years without making music. It was in 2021, with the song ‘Dawning of a Brand New Day’.