John Sykes , the legendary guitarist who left his mark on bands like Whitesnake , Thin Lizzy , Tygers of Pan Tang , and Blue Murder, passed away on January 20, 2025. The news caught the rock world by surprise, especially those who were part of his career. John's death was announced through an official statement on his social media.
Check out the official Instagram , with a free translation;
"It is with great sadness that we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He will be remembered by many as a man of exceptional musical talent, but to those who did not know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up any room."
He certainly followed his heart and always rooted for the less fortunate. In his final days, he expressed his sincere love and gratitude to the fans who stood by him throughout all these years.
Although the impact of his loss is profound and the atmosphere is one of sadness, we hope that the light of his memory will erase the shadow of his absence.
Big names in rock pay tribute to John Sykes.
The sad news was met with tributes from various artists in the music world, according to the website Blabbermouth , including David Coverdale (Whitesnake); Slash ( Guns N' Roses ); Mike Portnoy ( Dream Theater ); Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio ); Glenn Hughes ( Deep Purple ) and Carmine Appice (Blue Murder, Vanilla Fudge ).
Check out some of the artists' official social media posts;
"I just heard the shocking news of John's passing… My sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans…" David Coverdale said briefly on his Instagram .
Mike Portnoy recalled moments with Sykes: “I am absolutely shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of the great John Sykes. As many of you know, John and I spent a lot of time together in 2011 when we were planning to launch a new band. We even recorded 12-song demos of it and even appeared on That Metal Show together to announce the project. Unfortunately, it never came to fruition, and the demos never surfaced, but working with him and spending so much time together gave me so many incredible memories. He was an extraordinary talent, and it was an honor to work with him. Such a sad loss.”
Another prominent name is Doug Aldrich, who expressed, "I'm very sad to hear that John Sykes passed away from cancer :("
The guitarist continues: “Praying and sending thoughts to his family and fans around the world. He’s up there with Eddie, Gary, Randy, Jimi and many of our heroes now.”
“I met John several times and I will never forget the conversations we had. He was always very kind.
He was a funny, cool guy and fierce on the guitar, as well as singing incredibly well.
We will miss you, John, but thank you for the inspiration.” Aldrich concludes, via his Instagram .
READ ALSO : Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy mourns the death of his sister from cancer.
