Biography

Sykes mainly used EVH 5150 III amplifiers and cabinets. He previously used modified Marshall JCM800s for live performances. For Whitesnake's 1987 album and the first Blue Murder record, Sykes used two Mesa Boogie Coliseum heads with Mark III preamp sections and six 6L6 power tubes. For live performances, Sykes used rackmounted chorus and delay effects. During his first stint with Thin Lizzy, he used a Boss chorus pedal, which was retired after Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray complained it was too noisy.

Sykes made his recording debut on the Streetfighter track "She's No Angel", which appeared on the New wave of British heavy metal compilation New Electric Warriors in 1980. Afterwards, he left Streetfighter to join Tygers of Pan Tang.

Has 3 sons with his ex-wife Jennifer.

After leaving the group Tygers of Pan Tang, Sykes auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's band and was briefly a member of John Sloman's Badlands.

At age 14, Sykes took an interest in the guitar when his uncle showed him how to play some of Eric Clapton's licks. For the next two years, he practised playing blues songs on an old nylon-string guitar.