Legendary 80's guitarist John Sykes passed away at the age of 65.
A former member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Blue Murder, Sykes was one of the iconic guitarists of the 80's, who's best work was highlighted on the self titled Whitesnake album, which became one of the biggest albums of the decade.
"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," according to the statement. "He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog."
Sykes came into Thin Lizzy at the turn of the decade, when the band became harder-edged with their 1983 album Thunder and Lightning, which was the last for the group's late frontman Phil Lynott. Sykes, would then join Whitesnake for a two albums the mid-'80s Slide It In and the classic Whitesnake album, co-writing all but two songs on the eight-times platinum hit. At the end of the recording, though his relationship with David Coverdale became strained, which lead to the singer firing the entire band and replace them all with a new band for the tour and videos.
"John was and is an incredible talent," Coverdale later said. "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."
Sykes would rebound by creating his own supergroup with journeyman drummer, Carmine Appice, and Firm bassist Tony Franklin. The band's debut garnered two rock hits "Valley Of the Kings" and "Jelly Roll". ultimately, the band would release two albums, neither becoming big sellers, but garnering a cult following that followed Sykes through the Alternative dominated 90's. In his later years Sykes would perform with a new line-up of Thin Lizzy, as well as embark on a solo career.
In a decade of high speed shredding, John Sykes brown a blues driven style to the 80's setting his work apart from the generic Eddie Van Halen 'carbon copies' that dominated at the time. He is regularly found on pretty much any greatest guitar list as he is one of the best of his day and one of the greatest of all time.
R.I.P. John