IN MEMORY OF John Sykes

REMEMBERING THE POWERHOUSE ROCK JOURNEYMAN WHO BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO WHITESNAKE AND THIN LIZZY.

- By Nick Bowcott

ON JANUARY 20, 2025, one of my all-time guitar heroes, John Sykes, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. He was only 65. Like a great many rock guitarists, John's emotional, chopladen lead work and well-crafted riffing had a huge influence on me. Ditto his larger-than-life tone. In my humble opinion, though, outside of guitar playing circles, this great man was criminally underrated.

A rock guitarists’ guitarist in the truest sense of the term, John spawned many instantly memorable riffs and crafted some great songs. He had one of the widest and most soulful fretboard-hand vibratos I’ve ever heard. And he delivered it all with a visceral, no-holds-barred gusto.

To my ears he was always going for it; and the resulting excitement was, and always will be, palpable and inspiring — even when heard through puny smart-phone speakers. “Don’t Stop By,” “Gangland” and “Do It Good” by the Tygers of Pan Tang; “Crying in the Rain,” “Give Me All Your Love” and “Bad Boys” by Whitesnake; “Riot,” “Billy” and “Cry for Love” by Blue Murder all have the same effect: they make me want to pick up my guitar and have at it.

He also could sing — really, really well. But at least he wasn’t good looking with a striking stage presence. On second thought, scratch that. John possessed both of those qualities by the truckload, darn him!

I first saw him performing with the Tygers of Pan Tang in 1980 in Manchester, England. To say I was blown away by what I saw and heard would be a gross understatement. And he’d only just joined the band! He was the same age as me, but he totally left me choking in his dust, darn him again! I tried to console myself by thinking, “Perhaps he was just having one of those magical, perfect nights we all have once in a blue moon.” Not true.