Guitarist JOHN SYKES dies

On By Littum

Guitarist Jonh Sykes, 55, formerly Tyger of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, White snakeand Blue murder died today. Sykes was battling a serious cancer. The announcement was made by his official website.

It is with great sadness that we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard battle with cancer. He will be remembered by many as a man of exceptional musical talent, but to those who did not know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.

He definitely 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 to his fans who stuck by him all these years.

Although the impact of his loss is deep and the mood somber, we hope that the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.

In 2004, Sykes was nominated for Guitar world “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.” In 2006 Gibson guitars published a limited edition of John Sykes signature Les Pauls made from his 1978
Gibson Les Paul Custom.

In 2009 he left a rebuilt Thin Lizzy to pursue a solo career. Last year, however, in an interview to Brave worldhis earlier Tygers of Pan Tang‘s bandmate Robb Weir, after being asked if Sykes was a recluse, said:

“He is, yes. Well, I talk to him, he talks to me, and I’ve been trying to get his music out there and help him, and get that last album—which we’ll never see now—signed to our label, but to no avail. He feels he’s done what he needs to do musically, and he doesn’t need to do more. He’s comfortable.”

The information on his official site is that he “lives in Los Angeles and for the last several years John has been writing material and preparing the release of a new album entitled ‘Sew-Ops’.”

Metal World is saddened by this loss.