John Sykes

John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang.

He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.

John James Sykes was born 29 July 1959 in Reading, Berkshire.

He first became interested in the guitar at age fourteen, when his uncle showed him how to play some of Eric Clapton's licks.

At the time, Sykes and his family were living in Ibiza, Spain, where his father and uncle owned a discothèque.

For the next two years, Sykes practiced playing blues songs on an old nylon-string guitar.

After three years in Spain, the Sykes family moved back to Reading.

There, John entered a relationship and essentially gave up the guitar for a year and half.

He didn't start playing again until he moved to Blackpool, when he was asked to join the band Streetfighter by his friend Mervyn Goldsworthy, who would later play bass in Diamond Head, Samson and FM.

Sykes began his professional music career when he left Streetfighter to join Tygers of Pan Tang.

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.

Sykes recorded two albums with the group, Spellbound and Crazy Nights, which were both released in 1981.

By the following year, however, Sykes had grown frustrated with the band, as he and vocalist Jon Deverill would often butt heads with the other members.

He would later also state that in his opinion the group lacked both the style and dedication to achieve major success.

Sykes eventually left Tygers of Pan Tang two days before the start of a French tour in early 1982.

However, he did appear on two tracks on the band's fourth album The Cage, which was released after he had already left the group.

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 band ultimately broke-up after Sykes was approached to join Thin Lizzy.

After his departure from Tygers of Pan Tang, Sykes was still contractually obligated to deliver a single to the band's record label MCA Records.

Through Tygers of Pan Tang producer Chris Tsangarides, Sykes was able to get in touch with Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott.

The two co-wrote and performed the single "Please Don't Leave Me", which was released in 1982.

The track also featured fellow Thin Lizzy members Brian Downey and Darren Wharton.

After finishing the song, Sykes was asked to join Thin Lizzy.

He was officially confirmed as the band's new guitarist in September 1982.

Sykes performed on the group's 1983 album Thunder and Lightning, for which he also co-wrote the single "Cold Sweat".

Sykes's inclusion helped revitalise the band, steering them towards a sound more akin to heavy metal.

The supporting tour for Thunder and Lightning was billed as Thin Lizzy's farewell tour, though Sykes and Lynott were eager to continue further.

During the tour, the band recorded the live album Life, and Sykes also accompanied Lynott on a European solo tour.

Thin Lizzy played their final UK concert at the Reading Festival in August 1983, before finally disbanding after a show at Nuremberg's Monsters of Rock festival on 4 September.

Phil Lynott died on 4 January 1986, aged 36.

He then joined Whitesnake, with whom he recorded the multi-platinum-selling self-titled seventh 1987 album.

However, Sykes was let go 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 is known for his distinctive playing style, characterized by his fast alternate picking, use of pinch harmonics, and sense of melody.

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 being present.

In 2000, the group released the live album One Night Only.

In 2004, he was included on Guitar World's 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.