In 2014 Classic Rock spoke with John Sykes, the former Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist, about Blue Murder, the band he formed after parting ways with David Coverdale in 1986. Much loved, they influenced a generation of later musicians, including Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy. Sykes died this week, aged just 65.
What was behind Blue Murder?
I just wanted to put Whitesnake behind me. The split from there wasn’t at all friendly, and I was anxious to get back into the saddle, do an album my way and then go on tour. I also was keen for the first album to be very heavy.
Did your Whitesnake reputation help or hinder you?
It helped me, actually. I had just come off being involved with a huge album, 1987, and that meant there was a lot of interest in what I did next. It made it easier to get people’s attention.
Was this very much your band and vision?
I never wanted it to be just about me. I’m happiest when in a band, and share everything. Yes, I wrote all the songs. But as far as I was concerned everyone else involved was an equal part of Blue Murder. I always tried to present this as a proper band, and not a solo project.
Blue Murder went through a lot of changes in a short time. Were you hard to please?
I was meticulous, and wanted things to be right. I wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. Did that make me awkward to deal with? I prefer to think I set very high standards, and wasn’t prepared to drop them for anyone.
Why did it last only for two albums?
That wasn’t the intention when we started. But by the time we put out our second album, Nothin’ But Trouble, in 1993, the whole music business had changed enormously. Grunge had come in, and the sort of music we were doing was suddenly discarded. Nobody wanted to know any more. So we split up because our time had passed. I never saw this coming when our debut, Blue Murder, came out in ’89, but that’s the way everything worked out. Blue Murder was a band of its time.
Did the band get the credit they deserved?
It’s hard for me to say. I suppose because we got caught up in the whole grunge phenomenon, and therefore seen as representing an era that was out of date, Blue Murder were overlooked by a lot of people. That’s why I am so grateful to people like Myles Kennedy, who are fans of what we tried to do. It shows the band did have an impact that’s lasted down the years. So while we were discarded, obviously we’ve not been forgotten.
Of the two albums, which is the one you are most proud of?
If you force me to choose just one, then it would have to be the debut. It was very heavy, and we had no interest in trying to please anyone. We had no blueprint, but just went into the studio and did what felt right. And it came out so well. That gave us something to build on, because it didn’t sound like another Whitesnake album, but was very much about musicians who had control.
There are also some really good moments on the second album, and I’m proud of some of the songs. But the mistake we made there was trying to go for radio airplay. We were persuaded to be more commercial. The irony was that by the time it was released, the media didn’t have any interest in that sort of music.
Can you see yourself ever reviving Blue Murder?
If I wanted to reform Blue Murder, then I could do it at anytime I wanted. Right now, that doesn’t interest me at all. I am moving forward, not looking back. However, I wouldn’t totally rule it out at some point further down the line. I love what we did, and if the right circumstances appeared, then who knows… it might happen. I learnt a long time ago that you never say never.
Myles Kennedy: Why I love Blue Murder
I was a teenager who watched MTV in the late 80s. My parents didn’t have cable, so I’d go to my friends’ houses. That was where I came across Blue Murder. They were the band John Sykes put together when he left Whitesnake after the big 1987 record – it was him, Carmine Appice from Vanilla Fudge and Tony Franklin of The Firm.
MTV used to play two songs: one was Valley Of The Kings, this big, ballsy heavy metal number, then there was Jelly Roll, this up-tempo acoustic thing that goes into a power-ballad outro. Something resonated with me, so I checked out their debut album, Blue Murder.
It’s so underrated. I love the songs and performances, and it was produced by a young Bob Rock, so it’s amazing sonically. But more than that, it was about John Sykes’s guitar. He’s a soulful player with chops balancing technique and emotion. Why didn’t they become superstars? Timing: a sea-change happened with Appetite For Destruction, a precursor to the 90s, raw, in-your-face.
The era of slick 80s rock was almost over when Blue Murder’s album came out. They made a second a few years later but it didn’t stand a chance. These days there’s a whole Brotherhood Of Blue Murder out there – musicians and crew guys who love this band. You’d be surprised how many of us there are.
This feature was originally published in Classic Rock 195 (April 2014)
