The guitarist and songwriter John Sykes, who has died of cancer aged 65, was best known for his work with the erstwhile Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale’s band Whitesnake, with whom he made his stage debut in Dublin on 17 February 1984. Sykes added guitar parts for a new version of the band’s album Slide It In (1984), aimed specifically at an American audience; the album sold 6m copies worldwide.
He was then integral to the band’s next album, 1987 (called simply Whitesnake in the US), on which he co-wrote virtually all the songs with Coverdale, and also worked with the sound engineer Bob Rock to create the specific guitar sound he wanted. It worked, and 1987 eventually sold 25m copies. Boosted by heavy MTV airplay of the single Still of the Night, it reached No 2 on the US album chart, Whitesnake’s best US chart showing, and No 8 in the UK. With his tumbling blond hair and boyband good looks, Sykes was perfectly suited to what became known as “hair metal”.
