John Sykes, the legendary guitarist who died in December 2024, was on Friday subject to a posthumous single release by his former label, Golden Robot Records. The move has been heavily criticised by his estate, writing through Sykes’ official website.
The track, ‘My Guitar’, is representative of the bluesy riffs expected of Sykes over his over four decade long career, with an anthemic chorus and a heavy tone, very clearly a product of his later work as a solo artist. Golden Robot have declared that this was already a finished track that Sykes had completed while signed to them, and not a “retrospective reconstruction”.
In reaction to the release, the late Sykes’ family put up a statement on his website, writing that “in 2019, John Sykes parted ways with Golden Robot Records following ongoing issues relating to contractual agreements. Since that time neither John Sykes nor his estate has authorised, entered into, or agreed to any arrangement with Golden Robot Records for his unfinished material to be mastered, released or distributed under their label”.
This clearly contradicts the message of Golden Robot itself, who, when releasing the single, claimed that it was “lawfully permitted under John’s recording agreement, and reflects the shared intention, held while he was with us, to complete and present this material properly.”
The guitarist joined Golden Robot in January 2019, leaving in November of that same year due to contractual disagreements. He never issued an official release with them in his lifetime, although he later independently released two tracks, ‘Dawning of a Brand New Day’ and ‘Out Alive’ in January and July 2021 respectively. At the time he joined Golden Robot, he had not released a studio album since 2000, Nuclear Cowboy, although he did release a live album, Bad Boy Live! in 2004.
Sykes was an icon of the mainstream metal scene of the 1980s, with his flowing blonde locks and killer virtuoso making him a flagbearer for the MTV metal look, especially during his time with Whitesnake, with a firm hand in crafting most of the hits on its eponymous 1987 album, including synth ballad ‘Is This Love’ and the epic ‘Still of the Night’.
He had also been a member of New Wave of British Heavy Metal pioneers Tygers of Pan Tang, playing on their 1981 classic Spellbound, before decamping to Thin Lizzy for their final album, Thunder and Lightning, which featured a heavier sound. After leaving ‘Snake, he founded his own band, Blue Murder, who exhibited more of a blues rock sensibility.
While the resurrected track remains on streaming services, the situation is certainly unclear, given the way in which the Sykes estate is “deeply concerned”, feeling the release to be “profoundly disrespectful to John’s legacy and to his immediate family”.
