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John Sykes, Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy Guitarist and Co-writer of ‘Still of the Night’ and ‘Is This Love,’ Dies at 65
John Sykes, guitarist with Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy who co-wrote the hit singles 'Still of the Night' and 'Is This Love,' has died. He was 65.
A fiery guitarist and strong singer with a mane of wavy blond hair, Sykes is best known for his work on Whitesnake’s eponymous 1987 seventh album, for which he cowrote nearly every track — including the hit singles “Still of the Night” and “Is This Love” — and played all of the guitars. He left that group to joined the Tygers of Pan Tang, which were popular during the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” era of the early 1980s that also spawned Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and many other bands. After Sykes auditioned unsuccessfully for Ozzy Osbourne’s band, Tygers producer Chris Tsangarides connected him with Phil Lynott, singer-songwriter of Thin Lizzy, who were enormously popular at the time and had a constantly shifting second lead guitarist position.
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