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John James Sykes (29 July 1959 – December 2024) was an English guitarist and singer, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.
Following a stint in the heavy metal band Tygers of Pan Tang in the early 1980s, Sykes joined Irish hard rock group Thin Lizzy for their 1983 album Thunder and Lightning. He then joined Whitesnake with whom he recorded the Multi-Platinum-selling self-titled 1987 album. However, Sykes was fired from the band before the record's release under acrimonious circumstances, which led to him forming his own group Blue Murder. After two albums and a live record, he embarked on a solo career. For the remainder of the 1990s and early 2000s, Sykes split his time between his solo career and a reformed Thin Lizzy, which he fronted until 2009, when he left to focus on his solo career.
Influenced by the likes of Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Gary Moore, Sykes was known for his distinctive playing style, characterised by his wide fret-hand vibrato, use of pinch harmonics and sense of melody. In 2004, he was included on Guitar Worlds list of "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time". In 2006, Gibson released a limited line of John Sykes Signature Les Pauls, which were modelled after his 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom.
At age 14, Sykes took an interest in the guitar when his uncle showed him how to play some of Eric Clapton's licks. For the next two years, he practised playing blues songs on an old nylon-string guitar. Upon returning to Reading, Sykes entered a relationship and essentially gave up the guitar for a year and half. After moving to Blackpool, Sykes resumed playing and was asked to join the band Streetfighter by his friend Mervyn Goldsworthy, who would later play bass in Diamond Head, Samson and FM.
After leaving Tygers of Pan Tang, Sykes auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's band and was briefly a member of John Sloman's Badlands. Despite a few shows and Sloman procuring a recording contract with EMI, the group ultimately broke-up.
Phil Lynott died on 4 January 1986, aged 36. In 1994, Sykes along with former Thin Lizzy members Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Darren Wharton, formed a new touring version of Thin Lizzy, which was presented as a tribute to Phil Lynott's life and work. While the band only performed songs from Thin Lizzy's back catalogue and did not compose any new material, they were still criticised for using the Thin Lizzy name without Lynott. In 2000, the group released the live album One Night Only. Sykes continued to front Thin Lizzy through various line-up changes before announcing his own departure in 2009, stating: "I feel it's time to get back to playing my own music." Scott Gorham would later reform Thin Lizzy without Sykes's involvement.
Sykes was heavily involved in the making of Whitesnake's next album, co-writing the majority of the songs with vocalist David Coverdale. The two began in the South of France in early 1985, before heading to Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver to begin recording. Sykes pushed the band towards a more mainstream sound, described by Coverdale as "leaner, meaner and more electrifying". As recording progressed though, Coverdale's relationship with the rest of the group began to sour and he summarily fired all the other members, including Sykes. When Whitesnake's seventh album was released in April 1987, it became the band's most commercially successful release to date, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and selling over eight million copies in the US.
Since leaving Whitesnake, Sykes's relationship with Coverdale remained strained, feeling "very bitter" about how Coverdale handled his firing. In the early 2000s, there was a "reaching out" between the two as Coverdale was putting together a new Whitesnake line-up. By his account, Sykes recommended Marco Mendoza and Tommy Aldridge to the band (both of whom would end up joining), after which he never heard from Coverdale again. Mendoza claimed to have acted as a mediator of sorts between the two. Coverdale acknowledged speaking with Sykes about a possible reunion, but ultimately decided that the two had been "their own bosses" too long for it to work. In 2017, Sykes said of Coverdale: "I really have no interest in ever talking to him again."
Blue Murder's self-titled debut album was released in April 1989, reaching number 69 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band then embarked on a tour across America and Japan. While their debut album would go on to sell an estimated 500,000 copies according to Sykes, Blue Murder's success fell short of both the band's and the label's expectations. Sykes felt Geffen Records did not promote the group properly, stating: "I think they were trying to get me and David Coverdale back together. They wanted me to get back with the 'winning formula'. But the wounds were too fresh. I stayed with the same label. In hindsight, I would have done better with a different label."
During the recording of Blue Murder's sophomore album, Franklin and Appice left the group; they were replaced by Marco Mendoza and Tommy O'Steen, respectively. At the same time, Sykes was in consideration to join Def Leppard. While no formal auditions took place, Sykes did jam with them and sang backing vocals on their 1992 album Adrenalize. Ultimately Def Leppard would hire Vivian Campbell, who incidentally had replaced Sykes in Whitesnake five years prior. Blue Murder, meanwhile, released their second album Nothin' But Trouble in August 1993. It failed to chart outside of Japan, which Sykes once again attributed to Geffen Records, who he felt "didn't do anything" to promote the record. In 1994, Blue Murder released a live album, , after which they were dropped from their label and broke up.
There were several attempts to reunite Blue Murder since the band's break-up. In 2019, Carmine Appice stated that the group had rehearsed together, but Sykes wanted to tour under the moniker John Sykes & Blue Murder, which Appice was unwilling to do. In 2020, Appice stated that he and Sykes had once again talked about the possibility of a Blue Murder reunion, but nothing ultimately came of the conversation.
During an appearance on That Metal Show in 2011, Sykes revealed he was forming a new band with drummer Mike Portnoy. Also attached to the project was bassist Billy Sheehan. However, Eddie Trunk confirmed in 2012 that the project, tentatively titled Bad Apple, was no longer moving forward. According to Trunk, Sykes was "not on the same timetable" as Portnoy and Sheehan. Sykes was later replaced by Richie Kotzen and the group became the Winery Dogs.
In 2013, Sykes revealed he was working on a new solo album. Samples from the record were released in 2014 and Sykes discussed it in a 2017 interview with Young Guitar Magazine. In January 2019, it was announced that Sykes had signed a recording contract with Golden Robot Records with the intent of releasing the album that same year. However, in November 2019, Sykes announced that he had ended his partnership with Golden Robot Records. On 1 January 2021, Sykes released "Dawning of a Brand New Day", his first new song in over 20 years. This was followed up by "Out Alive" in July.
On 20 January 2025, it was announced via a statement on his social media and website that Sykes had died from cancer; his official website indicated that he died in December 2024, at the age of 65.
Sykes has been cited as an influence by Michael Amott, Courtney Cox, Marty Friedman, Myles Kennedy, Michael Sweet, and Rich Ward, among others. In 2004, Sykes was included on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time". In 2011, he was included on Guitar Player's list of "50 Unsung Heroes of the Guitar". Guitar Player also highlighted Sykes in their 2021 article "How '80s Guitar Heroes Changed Hard Rock Forever" as one of the quintessential hard rock guitarists of the 1980s. Following Sykes's death, Forbes magazine's Quentin Thane Singer wrote: "While Sykes didn't see the same worldwide recognition as other like-minded 1980s guitar heroes ... his musical contributions to the genre and capabilities as a guitarist are no less significant."
On Loveland, Sykes mainly used a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst, which is also featured on the cover. For clean tones, he often used a 1961 Fender Stratocaster. When he first joined Thin Lizzy, Sykes used a 1977 Gibson Les Paul Custom as a backup guitar. His other backups included a 1959 Gibson Les Paul reissue from 1985 and a 1991 Gibson Les Paul Classic Goldtop. Sykes's collection of guitars also included signature models from Jimmy Page, Gary Rossington, Joe Satriani and Eddie Van Halen, a white Gibson Les Paul Custom from the early 1970s, a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, and a 1965 Fender Telecaster, among many others. Sykes used Ernie Ball strings, gauge .010 to .046, and Dunlop 1.14mm Tortex picks.
For much of Whitesnake's 1987 album and the first Blue Murder record, Sykes used two Mesa/Boogie Coliseum heads with Mark III pre-amp sections and six 6L6 power tubes. During Blue Murder's later tours, Sykes used a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, before switching to Marshall JCM800s. Later he used EVH 5150 III amplifiers and cabinets. During live performances, Sykes used a variety of rack‐mounted chorus and delay effects. During his first stint with Thin Lizzy, Sykes used a Boss Corporation chorus pedal, which was retired after Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray complained it was too noisy.
| + !Year !Artist !Album !Track(s) !Credits !Ref(s) | |||||
| 1980 | Streetfighter | New Electric Warriors | "She's No Angel" | Guitar | |
| 1992 | Def Leppard | Adrenalize | Backing vocals | ||
| 1996 | Various artists | Crossfire: Salute to Stevie Ray | "Pride and Joy" | Guitar | |
| 1998 | Various artists | Merry Axemas 2 – More Guitars for Christmas | "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" | Guitar, producer, mixer | |
| 2001 | Phil Lynott | Live in Sweden 1983 | All tracks | Guitar, backing vocals | |
| 2002 | Hughes Turner Project | HTP | "Heaven's Missing an Angel" | Guitar, backing vocals | |
| 2004 | Derek Sherinian | Mythology | "God of War" | Guitar | |
| 2016 | Rick Wakeman, Tony Ashton | Gastank | "Growing Up", "The Man's a Fool" | Guitar | |
| 2018 | Various artists | Moore Blues for Gary: A Tribute to Gary Moore by Bob Daisley and Friends | "Still Got the Blues" | Guitar |
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