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This commercial hard rock
band was formed in New Jersey, USA, and fronted by Jon
Bon Jovi (b. John Francis Bongiovi Jnr., 2 March 1962,
Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA; vocals). His four
co-members were Richie Sambora (b. 11 July 1959; guitar,
ex-Message), David Bryan (b. David Rashbaum, 7 February
1962, Edison, New Jersey, USA; keyboards), Tico Torres
(b. 7 October 1953; drums, ex-Franke And The Knockouts)
and Alec John Such (b. 14 November 1956; bass,
ex-Message). Bongiovi, of Italian descent, met Rashbaum
(ex-Phantom's Opera) at Sayreville High School, where
they shared a mutual interest in rock music. They soon
joined eight other musicians in the R&B cover band
Atlantic City Expressway. When Rashbaum moved to New York
to study at the Juilliard School of Music, Bongiovi
followed. Charming his way into the Power Station
recording studios, which was owned by his cousin Tony, he
performed menial tasks for two years before Billy
Squier agreed to produce his demo tape. One track,
'Runaway', was played on local radio and appeared on a
local artist compilation album (his work would also grace
oddities such as the novelty track, 'R2D2 I Wish You A
Merry Christmas'). Reunited with Rashbaum, he acquired
the services of Sambora, an established session musician,
Such (ex-Phantom's Opera) and Torres (ex-Knockouts). By
July 1983, they had a recording contract with PolyGram
Records and support slots with Eddie Money and
ZZ Top, the latter at Madison Square Garden. Jon
Bon Jovi's looks attracted immediate attention for the
band, and he turned down the lucrative lead role in the
dance film Footloose in order to concentrate on
his music. Their debut album preceded a headline tour and
support slots with the Scorpions, Whitesnake
and Kiss. Their second album, 7800 Degrees
Fahrenheit, was greeted with cynicism by the music
press, which was already hostile towards the band's
manicured image and formularized heavy rock - this
mediocre album only fuelled their scorn. The band
responded in style: Slippery When Wet was the
biggest-selling rock album of 1987, although it
originally appeared in August 1986. Collaborating with
songwriter Desmond Child, three of its tracks -
'Wanted Dead Or Alive', 'You Give Love A Bad Name' and
'Livin' On A Prayer' - were US and European hits.
Headlining the Monsters Of Rock shows in Europe, they
were joined on stage by Gene Simmons and Paul
Stanley ( Kiss ), Dee Snider ( Twisted Sister
) and Bruce Dickinson ( Iron Maiden ) for
an encore of 'We're An American Band'. It merely served
to emphasize the velocity with which Bon Jovi had reached
the top of the rock league. The tour finally finished in
Australia after 18 months, while the album sold millions
of copies. When New Jersey followed, it included
'Living In Sin', a Jon Bon Jovi composition that pointed
to his solo future, although the song owed a great debt
to his hero Bruce Springsteen. The rest of 1989
was spent on more extensive touring, before the band
temporarily retired. As Jon Bon Jovi commented, it was
time to 'Ride my bike into the hills, learn how to
garden, anything except do another Bon Jovi
record.' He subsequently concentrated on his solo career,
married karate champion Dorothea Hurley and appeared in
his first movie, Young Guns II, and released a
quasi-soundtrack of songs inspired by the film as his
debut solo album in 1990. However, the commercial
incentive to return to Bon Jovi was inevitably hard to
resist. Keep The Faith, with a more stripped-down
sound, was an impressive album, satisfying critics and
anxious fans alike who had patiently waited almost four
years for new material. To those who had considered the
group a spent commercial force, the success of the slick
ballad, 'Always', a chart fixture in 1994, announced no
such decline. On the back of its success, Bon Jovi
occupied the UK number 1 spot with the compilation set Crossroad,
amid rumours that bass player Alec John Such was about to
be replaced by Huey McDonald. Meanwhile, Bryan released
his first solo album, through Phonogram in Japan, and
Sambora married Hollywood actress Heather Locklear (ex- Dynasty
). These Days was a typically slick collection of
ballads and party rock, and included the hit single 'This
Ain't A Love Song'. With their position already secure as
one of the world's most popular rock bands, the album
lacked ambition, and the band seemed content to provide
fans with more of the same old formula. Their profile had
never been greater than in 1995, when, in the annual
readers poll of the leading UK metal magazine Kerrang!,
the band won seven categories, including best band and
best album (for These Days ) and, astonishingly,
worst band and worst album (for These Days )! These
Days Tour Edition was a live mini-album released only
in Australia. Jon Bon Jovi began to nurture an acting
career in the 90s with starring roles in Moonlight And
Valentino and The Leading Man, and enjoyed
further solo success with 1997's Destination Anywhere. |
