John Sykes, a hard-rock guitarist and singer who played with Thin Lizzy before joining Whitesnake for its smash 1987 album and later forming Blue Murder, has died of cancer. He was 65. The news was confirmed on Sykes’ Facebook page,

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;