John Sykes of Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake dies at 65

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. 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”, which was 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”.

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.” However, unfortunately, his relationship with singer David Coverdale was strained from the beginning.

“John was and is an incredible talent,” Coverdale later stated. “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 shared a heartfelt message today upon hearing the sad news.

“Just heard the shocking news of John’s passing…My sincere condolences to his family, friends & fans…🙏✨🙏✨⭐️✨🙏✨”

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 somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”