John Sykes

John James Sykes was born 29 July 1959 in Reading, Berkshire.^[1][2] The Sykes family spent three years living Ibiza, Spain, where John's father and uncle owned a discothèque. Afterward, they moved back to Reading.^[3]

At age fourteen, Sykes took an interest in the guitar when his uncle showed him how to play some of Eric Clapton's licks.^[4] For the next two years, he practiced playing blues songs on an old nylon-string guitar. Upon returning to Reading, Sykes entered a relationship and essentially gave up the guitar for a year and half. After moving to Blackpool, Sykes resumed playing and was asked to join the band Streetfighter by his friend Mervyn Goldsworthy, who would later play bass in Diamond Head, Samson and FM.^[3]

Sykes began his professional music career when he left Streetfighter to join Tygers of Pan Tang.^[1][4] 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.^[5] Additionally, he felt the group lacked both the style and dedication to achieve major success.^[3] Sykes left Tygers of Pan Tang in early 1982, two days before the start of a French tour.^[2] However, he appears on two tracks on the band's fourth album The Cage, which was released after he had already left.^[6]

After leaving Tygers of Pan Tang, Sykes auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's band and was briefly a member of John Sloman's Badlands.^[4][3] Despite a few shows and Sloman procuring a recording contract with EMI, the group ultimately broke-up.^[7]

After his departure from Tygers of Pan Tang, Sykes was still contractually obligated to deliver a single to the band's label MCA Records. Through Tygers of Pan Tang producer Chris Tsangarides, Sykes got 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.^[8][9] Afterwards, Sykes was asked to join Thin Lizzy. He was officially confirmed as the band's new guitarist in September 1982.^[9] Sykes performed on the group's 1983 album Thunder and Lightning, for which he also co-wrote the single "Cold Sweat".^[10][11] Sykes's inclusion helped revitalise the band, steering them towards a sound more akin to heavy metal.^[12] The supporting tour for Thunder and Lightning was billed as Thin Lizzy's farewell tour, though Sykes and Lynott were eager to continue further.^[13] During the tour, the band recorded the live album Life. Sykes also accompanied Lynott on a European solo tour.^[14] 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.^[15]

Phil Lynott died on 4 January 1986, aged 36.^[16] 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.^[17][18] In 2000, the group released the live album One Night Only.^[8] Sykes continued to front Thin Lizzy through various line-up changes before announcing his own departure in 2009, stating: "I feel it's time to get back to playing my own music."^[19] Scott Gorham would later reform Thin Lizzy without Sykes's involvement.

After Thin Lizzy's break-up, Sykes was initially keen to continue working with Phil Lynott in what would become Grand Slam.^[9] However, he was soon asked to join English hard rock group Whitesnake, whom he had met while on tour with Thin Lizzy.^[8] After negotiating a satisfactory contract and receiving Lynott's blessing, Sykes agreed to join the band.^[6][10] He made his live debut with the group in Dublin on 17 February 1984.^[20] He was first tasked with recording new guitar parts for the US release of the band's 1984 album Slide It In.^[6] Afterwards, Whitesnake embarked on a lengthy world tour, which culminated in two shows at the 1985 Rock in Rio festival.^[21] The record became Whitesnake's first major success in the United States, selling over half a million copies. Sykes played a key role in the group's newfound success, with a more vibrant look and sound compared to the band's previous guitar players.^[22]

Sykes was heavily involved in the making of Whitesnake's next album, co-writing nine songs with vocalist David Coverdale.^[23] Sykes began pushing the band towards a more mainstream sound,^[24][25] which Coverdale described as "leaner, meaner and more electrifying".^[26] The two began writing together in the South of France in early 1985, before heading to Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver to begin recording.^[27] Eventually, though, Coverdale's relationship with the rest of the band began to sour. He then fired all other members of the group, including Sykes.^[6][23] Whitesnake's seventh album was released in April 1987, and it became the band's most commercially successful album to date, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and selling over eight million copies in the US.^[28][29]

Since leaving Whitesnake, Sykes's relationship with David Coverdale has remained strained with Sykes admitting he's still "very bitter" about how Coverdale handled his firing.^[23] In the early 2000s, there was a "reaching out" between the two as Coverdale was putting together a new Whitesnake line-up. By his own account, Sykes recommended Marco Mendoza and Tommy Aldridge to the band (both of whom would end up joining), after which he never heard from Coverdale again.^[8] Mendoza claimed to have acted as a mediator of sorts between Sykes and Coverdale.^[30] The latter admitted to speaking with Sykes about a possible reunion, but ultimately decided that the two had been "their own bosses" for too long for a reunion to work.^[31] In 2017, Sykes said of Coverdale: "I really have no interest in ever talking to him again."^[23]

Following his dismissal from Whitesnake, Sykes formed Blue Murder, which featured bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice.^[32][33] Initially, drummer Cozy Powell and vocalist Ray Gillen were tapped to the project. The former eventually left to join Black Sabbath, while latter was let go after Geffen Records' A&R executive John Kalodner encouraged Sykes to front the band himself.^[6][18][34]

Blue Murder's self-titled debut album was released in April 1989, reaching number 69 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[35] The band then embarked on a tour across America and Japan.^[33][36] While their debut album would go on to sell an estimated 500,000 copies according to Sykes, Blue Murder's success fell short of both the band's and label's expectations.^[18][33][37] Sykes felt Geffen Records did not properly promote the group, stating: "I think they were trying to get me and David [Coverdale] back together. They wanted me to get back with the 'winning formula'. But the wounds were too fresh. I stayed with the same label. In hindsight, I would have done better with a different label."^[6][18]

During the recording of Blue Murder's sophomore album, Franklin and Appice left the group. They were replaced by Marco Mendoza and Tommy O'Steen.^[33] At the same time, Sykes was being considered for the guitarist spot in Def Leppard. While no formal auditions took place, Sykes did jam with the band and sang backing vocals on their 1992 album Adrenalize. Ultimately Def Leppard would hire Vivian Campbell, formerly of Dio and Whitesnake.^[38] Blue Murder, meanwhile, released their second album Nothin' But Trouble in 1993. It failed to chart, something Sykes once again attributed to Geffen Records, whom he felt "didn't do anything" to promote the record.^[6] In 1994, Blue Murder released a live album, Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott, after which they were dropped from their label and broke up.^[18]

There have been several attempts to reunite Blue Murder since the band's break-up. In 2019, Carmine Appice stated that the group had rehearsed together, but Sykes wanted the band to tour under the moniker John Sykes & Blue Murder, something Appice was unwilling to do.^[39] In 2020, Appice stated that he and Sykes had once again talked about the possibility of a Blue Murder reunion, but nothing ultimately came of the conversation.^[40]

After parting ways with Geffen Records in 1994, Sykes signed with the Japanese branch of Mercury Records and released his first solo album Out of My Tree in 1995.^[18] His second solo album Loveland ws released in 1997. Mercury Records had initially requested a seven-track extended play of ballads, but Sykes ultimately decided to expand the project into a proper album. 20th Century, a companion record to Loveland featuring heavier material, was released that same year.^[18] This was followed-up by Nuclear Cowboy in 2000.^[34] After a failed attempt to secure a European recording contract with Z Records, Sykes signed a distribution deal with Burnside Distribution in 2003, which made his solo albums available in the US for the first time.^[41][42] In 2005, Sykes released the live album Bad Boy Live!.^[43] According to guitarist Richard Fortus, Sykes also auditioned for Guns N' Roses in 2009.^[44]

During an appearance on That Metal Show in 2011, Sykes revealed he was forming a new band with drummer Mike Portnoy.^[45] However, Eddie Trunk confirmed in 2012 that the project, tentatively titled "Bad Apple", was no longer moving forward. Bassist Billy Sheehan had been tapped to the band as well, but ultimately the members' individual schedules didn't line up. According to Trunk, Sykes was "not on the same timetable" as Portnoy and Sheehan.^[46] Sykes was later replaced by Richie Kotzen and group became The Winery Dogs.^[47]

In 2013, Sykes revealed he was working on a new solo album.^[48] Samples from the record were released in 2014 and Sykes discussed the album in a 2017 interview with Young Guitar Magazine.^[49][50] In January 2019, it was announced that Sykes had signed a recording contract with Golden Robot Records with the intent of releasing his long-delayed album that same year. However, in November 2019, Sykes announced that he had ended his partnership with Golden Robot Records.^[51] On 1 January 2021, Sykes released "Dawning of a Brand New Day", his first new song in over twenty years.^[52] This was followed up by "Out Alive" in July.^[53]

Sykes married Jennifer Brooks-Sykes on 10 April 1989, after four years of living together.^[54] They were married until 1999.^{[citation needed]} Sykes has three sons: James, John Jr. and Sean.^[54][55][56]

Sykes has listed Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin among his biggest influences.^[43][54] He regards himself as a "blues player that plays rock".^[8] Some of the main characteristics of Sykes's playing are his fast alternate picking, doubled‐note lines, wide fret-hand vibrato, pinch harmonics and tapping.^[57][58][59] Former White Wizzard guitarist Will Wallner described Sykes as having a great sense of melody in his playing.^[60][61]

In 2004, Sykes was included on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time".^[62] In 2011, he was included on Guitar Player's list of "50 Unsung Heroes of the Guitar".^[63] Guitar Player also highlighted Sykes in their 2021 article "How '80s Guitar Heroes Changed Hard Rock Forever" as one of the quintessential hard rock guitarists of the 1980s.^[59]

Sykes has used a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom throughout most of his career. The guitar is fitted with chrome hardware (which were added at Phil Lynott's suggestion), Grover tuners and a brass nut. The guitar featured a Gibson Dirty Fingers pick-up in the bridge position, which was later swapped out for a Gibson PAF reissue.^[64] In 2006, Gibson produced a limited number of Les Pauls based on Sykes's model. The line quickly sold out.^[10] Other guitars Sykes has used over the course of his career include a sunburst 1959 Gibson Les Paul (which is featured on the cover of his 1997 album Loveland), a 1961 Fender Stratocaster, an EVH Frankenstein and a Joe Satriani model Ibanez. Sykes uses Ernie Ball strings, gauge .010 to .046, and Dunlop 1.14mm Tortex picks.^[64]

Sykes mainly uses EVH 5150 III amplifiers and cabinets. He previously used modified Marshall JCM800s for live performances. For Whitesnake's 1987 album and the first Blue Murder record, Sykes used two Mesa Boogie Coliseum heads with Mark III pre-amp sections and six 6L6 power tubes.^[64] For live performances, Sykes has used rack‐mounted chorus and delay effects.^[57] During his first stint with Thin Lizzy, Sykes used a Boss chorus pedal, which he retired after Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray complained it was too noisy.^[3]

• Out of My Tree (1995)
• Loveland (1997)
• 20th Century (1997)
• Nuclear Cowboy (2000)
• Bad Boy Live! (2004)

• Spellbound (1981)
• Crazy Nights (1981)
• The Cage (1982) (Tracks 8 and 10)

• Thunder and Lightning (1983)
• Life (1983)
• One Night Only (2000)

• Slide It In (1984) (US version)
• Whitesnake (1987)

• Blue Murder (1989)
• Nothin' but Trouble (1993)
• Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott (1994)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Sykes.

• Official website