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Biography
For|the politician|John Sykes (UK politician)BLP sources|date=October 2009Infobox musical artist| name = John Sykes| image = John Sykes 1984.jpg| background = solo_singer| birth_name = John James Sykes| Born = birth date and age|1959|7|29|df=y Reading, Berkshire|Reading , Berkshire England , United Kingdom | alias =| genre = Hard rock , Heavy metal music|heavy metal | occupation = Musician , songwriter | instrument = Guitar , Singing|vocals | associated_acts = Streetfighter, John Sloman's Badlands , Tygers of Pan Tang , Thin Lizzy , Phil Lynott , Whitesnake , Blue Murder (band)|Blue Murder | label =| years_active = 1980–present| website = http://www.johnsykes.com Official website| notable_instruments = Gibson Les Paul John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959), is an England|English Rock music|rock guitarist , who has played with Streetfighter, Tygers of Pan Tang , John Sloman| John Sloman's Badlands , Thin Lizzy , Whitesnake , and Blue Murder (band)|Blue Murder , in addition to having a notable solo career.
Career
Tygers of Pan Tang and John Sloman's Badlands (1980–1982)
Sykes joined Tygers of Pan Tang in 1980, and played guitar on the albums Spellbound (Tygers of Pan Tang album)|Spellbound (1981) and Crazy Nights (Tygers of Pan Tang album)|Crazy Nights (1982), as well as participating on two tracks for their 1983 release, The Cage (album)|The Cage .
In 1982, John Sykes was recruited by former Uriah Heep (band)|Uriah Heep frontman John Sloman , for his new band John Sloman's Badlands|Badlands , alongside his future Whitesnake bandmate Neil Murray (British musician)|Neil Murray . This was to be short-lived however, as Badlands broke up shortly after formation. No music has ever been officially released, although bootlegs of rehearsals do exist. Sykes also auditioned, unsuccessfully, for Ozzy Osbourne 's band following the death of Randy Rhoads .cite web|url= http://reocities.com/sunsetstrip/Diner/2674/rsarz_b.htm |title=Rudy Sarzo biography (The Musicians' Olympus) |publisher=Reocities.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-02
Thin Lizzy (1982–1983)
At the age of 23, Phil Lynott asked Sykes to join Thin Lizzy , filling the spot left by previous guitarist Snowy White . He participated in the recording of the band's final studio album Thunder and Lightning (album)|Thunder and Lightning , and contributed the track " Cold Sweat (Thin Lizzy song)|Cold Sweat ".
Sykes toured with the band until the autumn of 1983 to promote Thunder and Lightning , from which the live album Life (Thin Lizzy album)|Life was recorded. Following the tour, Thin Lizzy disbanded.
Sykes joined Phil Lynott for Lynott’s solo tour of Europe in a band dubbed, The Three Musketeers featuring Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Darren Wharton, and Sykes.
Whitesnake (1983–1987)
David Coverdale hired Sykes to join Whitesnake following the release of Slide It In in 1984. He re-recorded some guitar tracks for the US release, and toured in support of the album, culminating with the 1985 Rock in Rio festival.
Sykes co-wrote the majority of the songs on Whitesnake's 1987 Whitesnake (album)|self-titled album with David Coverdale , and recorded the guitar as well as some backing vocal tracks. Near the end of the 1987 sessions Coverdale fired the entire band (allegedly because of personality clashes and matters of ego) and brought in Adrian Vandenberg to record the solo on " Here I Go Again ".
This was Whitesnake's most successful album, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200? chartDate=1987-09-12#/charts/billboard-200? chartDate=1987-06-13 Billboard 200, June 13 1987 and selling over eight million copies in the United States alone. It contained the hit singles "Still of the Night", " Is This Love (Whitesnake song)|Is This Love ", "Give Me All Your Love", and "Here I Go Again" (the last was not a Sykes composition).
Blue Murder (1988–1994)
After Coverdale fired the 1987-era band, Sykes went on to form Blue Murder (band)|Blue Murder with Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and The Firm (British rock band)|The Firm bassist Tony Franklin (musician)|Tony Franklin .
After recording a demo with Ray Gillen on vocals, A& R executive John Kalodner encouraged Sykes to handle the vocal duties himself. http://www.johnsykes.com/bbinterview.html 2001 Interview with Troy Wells of ballbusterhardmusic.com
Their self-titled Blue Murder (album)|debut album was a moderate success, but the 1993 follow-up '' Nothin' but Trouble did not fare as well. After two studio albums and a live recording, Blue Murder was put to bed and Sykes began recording and touring under his own name.
Solo career (1994–present)
In the years following Blue Murder, Sykes recorded several solo albums: Out of My Tree (album)|Out of My Tree (1995), Loveland (album)|Loveland (1997), 20th Century (1997) and Nuclear Cowboy (2000).
A song from 20th Century , "Cautionary Warning", was used in the anime series Black Heaven . The footage accompanying the song was rotoscope d from one of Sykes' concerts. Sykes' involvement in the series was the a feature of Pioneer USA's marketing.Citation needed|date=February 2007 In 2004, the live album Bad Boy Live& #33; (album)|Bad Boy Live! was released, covering a number of "greatest hits" from Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder, and his solo work.
Sykes has made rare guest appearances on the Hughes Turner Project debut album on the track "Heaven's Missing an Angel", and later on keyboardist Derek Sherinian 's 2004 solo album Mythology (Derek Sherinian album)|"Mythology" , playing alongside Zakk Wylde on the track "God of War".
Thin Lizzy reformed (1996–2009)
In 1996, he reformed Thin Lizzy with Scott Gorham , Brian Downey (drummer)|Brian Downey , and Darren Wharton . Sykes, as well as taking on the role of lead guitarist, handled the lead vocals due to the death of Phil Lynott years earlier.
Touring occasionally with Thin Lizzy, a live recording One Night Only (Thin Lizzy album)|One Night Only was released in 2000.
On 7 July 2009, Sykes announced that he had parted ways with Thin Lizzy, stating that "I feel it's time to get back to playing my own music". http://johnsykes.com/news.html John Sykes Official Website
Future
On the May 7, 2011 episode of That Metal Show , when asked about a Blue Murder reunion, Carmine Appice said they were "talking." No further details were given.cite web|author=Posted 5/10/11 |url= http://www.vh1.com/video/that-metal-show/full-episodes/carmine-appice-dave-meniketti/1663564/playlist.jhtml |title="Carmine Appice, Dave Meniketti" ( Ep. 708 ) from That Metal Show & #124; Full Episode |publisher=VH1.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-02
On July 26, 2011, during his taping of "That Metal Show," John announced that he was forming a new band with drummer Mike Portnoy . cite web|url= http://www.johnsykes.com/news.html |title=Sykes News |publisher=Johnsykes.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-02.
On January 24, 2012, Eddie Trunk confirmed that the Sykes/Portnoy project had dissolved, saying "When I first talked about Portnoy and Sykes working together I joked with them that I had never met two guys with such different work ethics. Mike wants to do everything yesterday and John really takes his time and is much more conservative. That truly is the only reason why what could have been a killer band has dissolved. Obviously bands are like any relationship, some click, some do not. This was simply a case of two different people not only getting to know each other musically but also personally, and the schedule and timing for making this work just fell apart. Mike and the band's bass player were ready to go, and John simply was not on the same timetable." cite web|url= http://eddietrunk.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/433081/pid/401816 |title=Sykes/Portnoy band ends, the story |publisher=eddietrunk.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-24. The next day, Richie Kotzen was announced to have replaced Sykes.
On January 29, 2012, John posted on his website: "The project I was putting together with Mike Portnoy didn't work out, and I wish him all the best for the future. I'm continuing to work on my new album, and I look forward to putting out some great new music in 2012." cite web|url= http://www.johnsykes.com/news.html |title=Sykes News |publisher=Johnsykes.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-30
Personal life
Sykes was married to Jennifer Brooks Sykes for more than 16 years. Together they had three sons, and one son from Jennifer's previous marriage to Rainbow (band)|Rainbow bassist, Craig Gruber . Jennifer divorced John in 1999.Citation needed|date=April 2010
John Sykes signature Les Paul
In 2006 Gibson Guitars began producing an "Inspired By" Gibson Les Paul which was modeled after Sykes' 1970s-era Les Paul Custom. http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003271.html Gibson Custom Shop Inspired By John Sykes Les Paul Custom (Modern Guitars Magazine). There were two versions available; an "aged" look (recreating the exact looks of John's Les Paul) and a "standard" or "VOS" model. This was a limited edition run, with 66 aged look models created, and just over 100 VOS models created. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php? /topic/5970-john-sykes-les-paul-custom-vos/ John Sykes Les Paul Custom VOS (Gibson Forums).
Other Equipment
His amplifiers include several modified Marshall amplification|Marshall JCM800's he's used since the early 80's. He took a break from Marshall in the late 1980s when he started using Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. He used the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ and Mark III Coliseum heads during his tenures with Whitesnake and Blue Murder. He once again started using his JCM800's when he began touring solo and for the Thin Lizzy "reunion" tours.
Although rarely, he can also be seen using Roland Jazz Chorus|Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus combos for his clean tones.
Discography
With Streetfighter
Crazy Dream EP
With Tygers Of Pan Tang
Spellbound (Tygers of Pan Tang album)|Spellbound (1981)
Live at Nottingham Rock City (1981)
Crazy Nights (Tygers of Pan Tang album)|Crazy Nights (1982)
The Cage (album)|The Cage (1983) (Tracks "Love Potion No. 9" and "Danger in Paradise")
Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott (1994)
Solo
'' Please Don't Leave Me (album)|Please Don't Leave Me ( 1982 )
Out of My Tree (album)|Out Of My Tree ( 1995 )
'' I Don't Wanna Live My Life Like You ( 1995 )
Loveland (album)|Loveland ( 1997 )
20th Century ( 1997 )
Chapter One (John Sykes album)|Chapter One ( 1998 )
Best of John Sykes ( 2000 )
Nuclear Cowboy (album)|Nuclear Cowboy ( 2000 )
Bad Boy Live& #33; (album)|Bad Boy Live! ( 2004 )
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.johnsykes.com John Sykes' official website with news, merchandise, and information about his guitars
http://www.myspace.com/johnsykesofficial The Official John Sykes My Space page
Blue MurderThinLizzyWhitesnake
Persondata|NAME= Sykes, John |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Musician, songwriter |DATE OF BIRTH= 29 July 1959 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Reading, Berkshire|Reading , Berkshire , England , United Kingdom |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, John Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:English rock guitarists Category:English heavy metal guitarists Category:English rock singers Category:English heavy metal singers Category:Thin Lizzy members Category:Whitesnake members Category:Blue Murder members Category:Badlands (U.K. band) members Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:Lead guitarists
