Following the death of former Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake star John Sykes on 20 January, his former bandmate and fellow guitarist Scott Gorham has hailed Sykes as "a great musician".
Gorham and Sykes played together in Thin Lizzy in 1983 and again in the '90s.
Speaking to MusicRadar a day after Sykes passed away aged 65, Gorham says: "So sad to hear about the passing of John Sykes. He and I played some sweet music together, and he was a great musician. We'll miss him.”
Sykes' death was announced on his website with the statement: "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.”
Born in Reading on 29 July 1959, Sykes began his professional career in 1980 when he joined Tygers Of Pan Tang, a band from Whitley Bay in the North East of England, and one of the leading names in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal alongside Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Diamond Head.
Sykes recorded two full albums with Tygers Of Pan Tang - Spellbound and Crazy Nights, both released in 1981. He also appeared on two songs from the band’s 1982 album The Cage, including a hard-rocking version of 1950s doo-wop hit Love Potion No. 9.
Sykes’ aggressive, flashy playing style and blond-haired good looks marked hm out for stardom, and in late 1982 he jumped into the big league by joining Thin Lizzy.
He played on the band’s 1983 album Thunder And Lightning, and co-wrote the single Cold Sweat.
The heaviest-sounding album of Thin Lizzy’s career, Thunder And Lightning was also the band’s last studio album. They split after a farewell tour in 1983, which yielded the double live album Life.
At the end of 1983 Sykes joined Whitesnake.
At a time when Whitesnake singer David Coverdale was reshaping the band to focus on the US market, Sykes was the perfect foil: a young guitar hero with the right chops and image.
Sykes played a small role on the US remixed version of the band’s 1984 album Slide It In, the bulk of which was recorded before his arrival.
For the following album, Sykes and Coverdale co-wrote all of the songs together, save for two old tracks from previous Whitesnake albums that were re-recorded - Crying In The Rain and Here I Go Again.
The album was titled 1987 in the UK and simply Whitesnake in the US.
The sound of this album was bigger and slicker than anything Whitesnake had previously recorded - as illustrated by the Led Zeppelin-influenced opening track Still Of The Night and the power ballad Is This Love.
But before the album’s release, Coverdale fired John Sykes.
Coverdale had struggled with a sinus infection during the recording of the album, and while he was undergoing treatment he discovered that Sykes had been plotting to oust the singer from his own band.
“Petty daft, really," Coverdale said many years later. “It kind of compromised any chance of continuing working together, as you can imagine…”
With Sykes gone, Coverdale brought two new guitarists into Whitesnake - Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell.
The 1987 album became a multi-million selling smash hit, making Sykes a wealthy man. But never again would he make music that had such a huge impact around the world.
His supergroup power trio Blue Murder featured famous drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart) and bassist Tony Franklin, who had played alongside Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers in another supergroup, The Firm. But after two flop albums, Blue Murder disbanded.
Sykes had auditioned for Def Leppard in the early ’90s before the job went to Vivian Campbell, the man who had earlier replaced Sykes in Whitesnake.
Sykes later fronted a touring version of Thin Lizzy long after the death of that band’s leader Phil Lynott.
His first solo album Out Of My Tree was released in 1995. His last was Nuclear Cowboy in 2000.
The statement on Sykes’ website added: “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 sombre, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”
David Coverdale posted on X: "Just heard the shocking news of John's passing… My sincere condolences to his family, friends & fans…”
