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.

Yesterday (January 20), it was announced that John Sykes – a hugely influential mainstay of '80s hard rock guitar who had stints in Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and Tygers of Pan Tang – had died at 65. Though not quite a household name,

John Sykes, a veteran hard-rock guitarist who was a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and the Tygers of Pan Tang, has died, according to a post on his official Facebook page. He had battled cancer for several years;