There are few bands from the ‘hair-metal’ era of the mid 1980s still around today, but Jon Bon Jovi and his band have stayed the course, adapting their style of rock to changing tastes and improving with age. Even after a quarter of a century, Bon Jovi tickets still sell in vast numbers with the band claiming the most profitable tour of 2010 according to Billboard magazine.
The key to Bon Jovi’s continuing popularity is their willingness to move with the times and experiment with new sounds whilst still offering a solid, satisfying rock and roll experience in their live shows.
After the undeservedly nondescript performance of their first two albums, Bon Jovi stole the hearts and minds of the rock loving world with 1986’s Slippery When Wet, unleashing timeless anthems ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ and ‘Living on a Prayer’ and powering the band into the rock stratosphere.
Since then there has been no real let-up in the release of massively successful Bon Jovi albums, singles and tour dates, in a career that has seen the band inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, perform live for the Queen, win countless music awards and perform for 34 million fans worldwide.
The hair may be a little shorter these days, but none of the magic that makes Bon Jovi so popular with fans old and new has been lost. In the words of rock critic Neil McCormack, “Bon Jovi are impossible to fault as pure pop rock entertainers”.