CARMINE APPICE Wants To Record 'Tribute' To BLUE MURDER Featuring Guest Musicians: 'I Think It Would Be Interesting'

In a new interview with VRP Rocks, hosted by U.K. radio veteran Paul Stephenson, drummer Carmine Appice discussed the possibility of new recordings related to his power trio/supergroup BLUE MURDER. The band was formed by guitarist/vocalist John Sykes and released two studio albums — 1989's self-titled effort and the 1993 follow-up, "Nothin' But Trouble" — before calling it quits. Carmine, who played drums for BLUE MURDER, while Tony Franklin played bass, said: "Well, I don't know yet. I just brought the idea up to my label that does the CACTUS stuff, and I said, 'BLUE MURDER never had its due.' Everywhere I go, people love BLUE MURDER. Everywhere Tony Franklin goes, people love BLUE MURDER. All musicians love BLUE MURDER. So I said, 'What about if we do a tribute to BLUE MURDER?' Same vibe [as the recent albums of reimagined versions of CACTUS songs, 'Temple Of The Blues' and 'Temple Of Blues II']. Get Ted Nugent, get Tony, get Billy Sheehan, get maybe some different guys [to guest on it]. And they said, 'That sounds good.' I said, 'Okay, let me clear it with Tony.' 'Cause I talked to Tony one time. I said, 'Maybe we should go out, maybe do a few BLUE MURDER songs with a couple of guys just as a tribute to BLUE MURDER.' He said, 'Nah, I don't think we should do that.' But maybe this could be a different thing. But I don't know. I'm just talking through my head, or through my hat. What do they say? Talking through my hat. But the label agrees it could be interesting. I think it would be interesting."

Appice also praised Sykes, whose death was announced in January 2025 at age 65 after a battle with cancer. He said: "He was great player. He was like a jazz guy. And then it turned into a rock band, and just the choice of scales were fantastic. And he looked great, and he had the image. And now we started him singing on BLUE MURDER. We always wanted a singer — we went through so many singers — and finally me and Tony said, 'Look, you got the deal on your voice. Why don't you sing? We'll be like the CREAM. We'll back you up.' And that's what we did. And he turned into a great singer."

Upon Sykes's firing from the most successful version of WHITESNAKE, the former TYGERS OF PAN TANG and THIN LIZZY axeman set out to create a similar sounding bluesy hard rock band. BLUE MURDER released two studio albums and one live album before breaking up in 1994. The late Ray Gillen, most famous for singing for BLACK SABBATH and BADLANDS, sang for an early version of BLUE MURDER, and the band reportedly recorded demos with him, but he didn't appear on any of the group's albums.

In a 2014 interview with Classic Rock, Sykes stated about why BLUE MURDER lasted 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 anymore. 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."

Asked if BLUE MURDER was very much his band and vision, Sykes said: "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."

John's best-known work was when he joined WHITESNAKE and co-wrote the band's self-titled seventh studio album, released in 1987. It produced a major power ballad hit, "Is This Love", along with the No. 1 hit "Here I Go Again". The album was a major crossover hit, eventually selling over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.

Sykes announced his departure from THIN LIZZY in July 2009, explaining that "I feel it's time to get back to playing my own music."