John Sykes died from cancer at age 65. The guitarist played for both Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake before joining Blue Murder with Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice.

It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer,' a statement on his website read. 'He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally,

John Sykes, the British hard rock guitarist best known for his time in Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has passed away. Sykes’ social-media pages reported his passing yesterday, saying that Sykes died after a “hard fought battle with cancer.

Ex- Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes has died at the age of 65. According to a post on Sykes’ official social media pages, the veteran U.K. musician “passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer.”

Rock ’n’ roll tributes have flooded in for Irish rock band Thin Lizzy’s legendary guitarist John Sykes after he died from cancer. John, who was 65 and died yesterday, famously described the group’s iconic frontman Phil Lynott, from Dublin, as his “hero”.

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.