WHITESNAKE and Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes – perhaps best known for the 1987 epic “Still Of The Night” – has died of cancer aged 65.
The loss of the celebrated British musician, who was also a member of Tygers Of Pan Tang and Blue Murder, was announced on his social media overnight Monday, Australian time.
“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer,” the statement read. “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.
“While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood sombre, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”
Fans, friends and media had been trying to coax Sykes out of apparent retirement for the past decade but any health challenges remained private.
Sykes played on the second and third albums of Tygers Of Pan Tang, Spellbound and Crazy Nights. After recording a solo single with three members of Ireland’s Thin Lizzy, he was invited to join the band.
He played on their final album, Thunder And Lightning, before joining Whitesnake in time to play on the US remake of 1984’s Slide It In. He went on to perform on the band’s breakthrough album, 1987, but was was fired before it was released and never appeared in the glossy music videos released from it.
Blue Murder, the power trio he formed with drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tony Franklin, is regarded as one of the most under-rated heavy rock acts in history and calls for them to reassemble for new music, a tour, a show or just to promote a deluxe re-issue will sadly now finally abate.
In 2019 Sykes signed with Australian label Golden Robot but no material was released and Sykes criticised the company in a statement. He did release two singles in 2021 but no album followed.
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