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

The renowned guitarist played with several successful bands from the 1980s including Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang.

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;