John Sykes

Best known for his stints with hard rock outfits <a href="spotify:artist:6biWAmrHyiMkX49LkycGqQ">Thin Lizzy</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a>, guitarist John Sykes was born July 29, 1959 in Reading, England. He began playing music at 14, and joined the group Streetfighter in 1980; a stint with <a href="spotify:artist:7fjyk4yWOsLuEa4JGZ89qH">Badlands</a> followed before Sykes joined <a href="spotify:artist:1MZ8NERIuOS610KBhr6yna">the Tygers of Pan Tang</a>, issuing the LP Spellbound in 1981. After completing work on the album Crazy Nights, he left <a href="spotify:artist:1MZ8NERIuOS610KBhr6yna">the Tygers</a> to join <a href="spotify:artist:6biWAmrHyiMkX49LkycGqQ">Thin Lizzy</a> in time for the group's final studio LP, 1983's Thunder and Lightning; the following year, Sykes joined <a href="spotify:artist:3UbyYnvNIT5DFXU4WgiGpP">Whitesnake</a>, making his debut with the album Slide It In. Their 1987 self-titled LP was the band's commercial breakthrough, with Sykes teaming up with frontman <a href="spotify:artist:2t5vvfFf3UdW0pJa7bz7i1">David Coverdale</a> to author the hit "Is This Love?" Soon after finishing the record, however, <a href="spotify:artist:2t5vvfFf3UdW0pJa7bz7i1">Coverdale</a> dismissed the rest of the band, and Sykes returned to England to form his own group, <a href="spotify:artist:7IzaAmbUsyOJsAIhZGUKR1">Blue Murder</a>, with drummer <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Carmine Appice</a> and bassist <a href="spotify:artist:5FnmKJQudzhF5DcDE47San">Tony Franklin</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:7IzaAmbUsyOJsAIhZGUKR1">Blue Murder</a> released three albums between 1989 and 1994 before dissolving. After touring with a reunited <a href="spotify:artist:6biWAmrHyiMkX49LkycGqQ">Thin Lizzy</a>, Sykes issued the solo ballad collection Loveland in 1997. 20th Century, which appeared later that same year, was credited simply to Sykes, which comprised the trio the guitarist had formed with bassist <a href="spotify:artist:7mnsWRY95TpZRGbiCh93Ob">Marco Mendoza</a> and drummer Tommy O'Steen. The Chapter One compilation followed in 1998, and two years later, Sykes issued Out of My Tree. John Sykes died in January 2025, with his passing announced by his survivors on January 20. He was 65 years of age. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi