Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes dies

Guitarist John Sykes, who played with rock bands including Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has died aged 65.

A statement on the musician's website said he died after a "hard-fought battle with cancer".

A statement published under an image of a black guitar and single red rose read: "He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn't know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.

"He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog.

"In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years.

"While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence."

Stars to pay tribute included Slash from Guns N' Roses, Whitesnake founder member David Coverdale and rock drummer Carmine Appice.

Sykes began his career in 1980 with heavy metal band the Tygers Of Pan Tang.

After two years of albums and tours, Sykes became lead guitarist with Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, alongside Scott Gorham.

He performed on the Thunder And Lightning album in the early 1980s, before he joined frontman Phil Lynott on his tour of Europe with a band dubbed The Three Musketeers.

Sykes was headhunted by British singer David Coverdale to join Whitesnake, appearing on the Slide It In album in 1984 as well as co-writing a self-titled album three years later with hits including Still Of The Night and Is This Love.

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Despite being their most commercially successful album, all band members aside from Coverdale disbanded ahead of its release.

After leaving Whitesnake and returning to the UK, Sykes formed the supergroup Blue Murder featuring Tony Franklin and Carmine Appice.

In 2004 he was included on Guitar World's list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists Of All Time.

Sykes is survived by his three sons, James, John Jr and Sean.

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