John Sykes, the world-renowned guitarist, best known for his work with the likes of Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder, passed away at the age of 65 on January 21, 2025.

On the subsequent tour, Sykes' place was taken by both Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell, though within just a couple of years, they too would be out of the band – the former temporarily, due to injury, and the latter permanently, due to personal differences.

Far fewer fans know Sykes, whose death last year at age 65 from cancer was recently made public, once auditioned for Guns N’ Roses. As rock insider Eddie Trunk said Jan. 21 on his SiriusXM show: “When Guns was in the pre-reunion [of Axl with Slash and Duff McKagan] mode,

Following the death of former Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake star John Sykes on 20 January, his former bandmate and fellow guitarist Scott Gorham has hailed Sykes as "a great musician". Gorham and Sykes played together in Thin Lizzy in 1983 and again in the '90s.

John Sykes, a guitarist who played with Thin Lizzy before joining Whitesnake for its smash 1987 album and later forming Blue Murder, has died of cancer at 65.

John Sykes, best known for his work with popular rock bands Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has died at the age of 65. The British guitarist died after a bout with cancer, according to a statement posted to his website Monday. The statement did not disclose what type of cancer Sykes had nor did it reveal the musician’s exact death date.

The renowned guitarist played with several successful bands from the 1980s including Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang.

The English guitarist co-wrote Whitesnake's 'Is This Love,' one of the defining power ballads of late-'80s hard rock.

British guitarist John Sykes, best known for his work with rock bands Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has died aged 65 “after a hard fought battle with cancer,” according to a statement on his website.

John Sykes, the electrifying guitarist who rocked the world in legendary bands Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy, has died at 65.

David Ignatius writes a twice-a-week foreign affairs column for The Washington Post. Ignatius has written 12 spy novels: “Phantom Orbit” (2024), “The Paladin” (2020), “The Quantum Spy ...

Friedman has called the late guitarist a “game changer” when it came to solos, while Vai says he could never play guitar like him