We the fans should ignore all these people, Rob, Obie, Jon, Matt and Richie too and live our lifes and if they want settle this shit.. Great if not and Richie is not coming back in the future and spends his time in that clothing line and don't think about all those fans he has all over the world.. Good for him.. I'm tired no one is having respect for the people who has made who they are now THE FANS

Berlin being an example that Jon cannot do it on his own in a stadium!! Oh, thats right, they have moved it!!

Yeah, cause they wouldn't have had to move if Richie was there?
Let's be real here.

Agreed, I think many people on here are vastly over exaggerating Richie's draw to the band.
Yes he has fans, but for one to not attend a Bon Jovi show purely because of his absence you're talking only the real diehards here, and you can get an idea of how many he has by looking at the attendance figures for his solo tour.

Even in the impossible scenario that every one of those fans who went to Shepards Bush last year (or use any other example from that tour) refuse to go to any UK Bon Jovi dates because of his absence, this is totally insignificant to the bigger picture. What's several hundred or even a thousand or so fewer tickets, compared to the 30-50,000 in a stadium? You'll get a bunch of vocal Sambora fans maybe kicking up a stink online or something, but it will have zero impact on the tour which, as we all know, is playing to audiences consisting of 95% casual fans, who probably didn't even know Richie was absent in the first place because they don't follow the band online like we all do.



Andi

I think Jon has underestimated the draw of the band as a whole. But we'll never know if this drop off is due to Richie, the fact that the album is a stinker or the poor tour reviews.

Wouldn't you say those two are linked though? I haven't been to any shows yet so of course I can't say that for certain, but from what I've seen it certainly seems that way.

I was being saracstic as I laughed a lot regarding that part of the article!

or the costs and over satuation of them touring all the time!!

I agree and also how many refunds are they getting? Out of a stadium audience, how many have asked for a refund? The tour was having poor ticket sales way before the Richie situation, it's got nothing to do with that. The first big test was the Australian shows and Melbourne first show sold out, they have annouced a second show. All the other shows are selling. From what I know, Richie's not being there, doesn't seem to have affected the tickets.

You have a point here. If there was a fight or a chance for Richie bailing from the tour, they would have had Phil on standby. Judging from the first show where Richie didn't turn up, it caught everyone off guard. So much off guard that Bobby was the lead guitarist! Phil wasn't even there and had to be called in. He even made that joke about answering the bat call every 2 years.
There doesn't seem to have been a build up or fighting or Richie making threats.

Richie's absense goes way beyond just this tour. I think that should be clear by now.
The only people interested in Bon Jovi are die hards. If they continue like this there won't be any left. Casuals don't give a crap....as you can see by album sales. It's all downhill from here. They should have retired when they were still on top and together. Now it's too late.

Those quotes don't get better for me having slept on it. I can only hope that they are bullshit- it is the mail after all and it doesn't make sense given how clammed up Richie has been on the whole situation thus far. Although, we did think it would kick off after Jon's comments the other day.

I have a niggling feeling it isn't him directly, but someone representing him. Clearly this can't have been a face to face interview, so its either a telephone or e-mail interview. To be honest, given how lazy the press are, I wouldn't be surprised if they have messaged him on Twitter and got it that way- it reads like some tweets pasted together. EIther that or he has been fed lines.

I would like to believe Richie wouldn't have said that- "The fans aren't getting what they paid for" "Jon thinks he can fill stadiums without me" **** that- YOU walked out on the band, YOU walked out on the fans, whether the initial or current reasons are right or wrong it was YOUR choice to leave, and Jon had to make the choice to cancel or go on. And go on he had to as Richie has previous. Being "off sick" from work but working on his fashion bullshit while fans who paid to see him and the band- and lets not miss the fact its a promotional article- they've made sure to get a sodding link to the fashion line in there, on conditional on giving the interview no doubt. Maybe its Nikki Lund stirring the pot and acting as Richie's "Matt"? Richie & Jon need to remember that all the shit they do outside of the band is only possible because of Bon Jovi. Jon's Soul Kitchen, Richie's fashion line, Dave's plays- none of them would have those, or at least to the scale they are, without Bon Jovi's success and the fans support through the years.

If all this mud slinging turns out to be true, Sambora is dead as a solo artist. He has ****ed over what few fans he has- his audience is Bon Jovi fans, outside of America at that, the ones who he has stiffed out of money in a global recession by bailing mid way through a tour and not having the balls to explain himself.

Less than a year ago, I was in awe at Shepherds Bush seeing Richie perform brilliantly. Now I thnk he is a complete prick. There's wrong on both sides and I'm rapidly losing respect for both parties- but Richie is losing more and more from me each day. If this is true, there's no doubt in my mind now that there wasn't any personal issues to begin with and if that's the case its unforgiveable from Sambora.

I've just got to hope that all isn't what it seems with these quotes- and there certainly is reasonable doubt, becuase if its true it's certainly all over for a long time now.

Hatred has won this time.

Both are to blame.

They've gone from The Rolling Stones, to become the new Guns N Roses.

Sad.

On the German page spiegel.de there is an interview with Jon and in the last part the interviewer asks him (after talking about songwriting, investments, his peers etc.):

Q: And how long will you keep on doing this? I mean your guitarist Richie Sambora just left the band.

Jon: I also think it won't go on much longer with us. Sure, my management doesn't like that but I recently thought: Guys, we're at a point where Eric Clapton or Elton John used to be as well. I don't mean that they are still good musicians, but I guess we reached our cruising altitude. Could be that we're on our way towards the descent. For sure I'd still enjoy earning more money but doing this job when being 70, like the Stones, I really don't want to do that.

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/d...-a-901048.html

New pictures came out of Richie and Nikki Lund and apparently she wanted it known that these pics were coming out.

Message from Nikki Lund, Richie's business partner for his clothing line, NikkiRich:

These pics of Richie and me will come out today ~ he is doing very well .... He is happy & healthy... Tell everyone

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

No one else is talking, no Kelli (Hugh's wife) Luke Ebbin or even Heather! but Nikki wants to get involved?

If this is true, I'm glad because it sounds like the passion has seeped away (like we couldn't guess that) and I'd have rather they took that decision before this tour and before they imploded... which it seems they have.

I think this just highlights even more that Richie never wanted to be involved in What About Now or the tour that goes with it.
He had come off the Circle tour and wanted to branch out as a solo artist and do his own thing.
Jon was adamant it had to be a band thing and the rest is history.....

Can't argue with Richie wanting to break away from the group for a while, but the lack of communication stinks.
Dave & Tico will call it quits at the end of this tour - they don't need/want to deal with Richie & Jon's crap.

After the Circle tour there should have been a solid 5 year break. Let them find their lives again and then re-discover a passion for being a band. Jon evidently decided he had more political crap to sing about.

I keep reading the Justin Bieber headline, "You're an a-hole, go to work" and think it's directed to Sambora. :rolleyes:

This story is getting picked up by lots of websites now, for whatever thats worth.

I think this is a tactic of Jon to sell more tickets, and sell it as the end.

I do not want an ending without Richie Sambora in this story.

:shock::shock:

That's just a re-worded answer to replace the "we don't want to be touring as a nostalgia act" answer that existed for the last 5 years..... Wouldn't read into it too much.

"For sure I'd like to still be earning more money..."
Good to see you got your priorities straight, Jon. :rolleyes:
Who cares about making good quality music, as long as you can tour and make more cash!
I think Richie leaving the tour/band is a blessing in disguise.

This ^^^ :(

Wrong band if you think they were in this for the art.

My sentiments exactly:( The end should have come with Jon, Richie, David and Tico. Those four guys (with Alec) started this thing, those four guys end it. I'm pass the point of blame and whose at fault but it wasn't suppose to end like this.

You were saying :D

http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/dru...t-Portrait.jpg

How do we know Dave, Tico, JBJ Promoters etc don't agree with Jon? The only one acting like a child is Richie - he abandoned his employer in the middle of a contract. He caused a lot of people (100 road personnel, the Band) issues with his actions.

I mean if Jon were as big an jackass (and OMG I am defending him and he is my least favorite member of BJ shoot me now) then none of these guys would be sticking together with him for thirty years. The one thing that I do see happening that is cool is Tico and Dave getting more limelight. Dave is carrying a bigger role with Richie gone and it is interesting how they have just stepped up.

Again my bigger issue is walking out of a tour - a tour right after you bailed before. I reeks of narcissism. I think Richie reads his press that there is no band without him and now Jon is digging in and showing him they can go on. Even if it was one fan in a stadium he is going to play.

He believed that love would win the battle, but won the hatred.

About Tico. He not participate in the last Album, John Shanks fill his parts. Tico did not want to join as soon in the record WAN. Now he only thinks about retirement.

Are you serious? No Tico on WAN? Where is this from?

Jon won't forgive Richie now. The negative publicity, the ticket sales issues etc... Richie's hissy fit has given Jon a convenient peg to hang the downfall of the band on...

They both won't be able to forgive each other. Too much damage, no communication. I think it's too late to heal the wounds.

Tico only denied to come in and play on demos for the album in late 2007. He played his parts on the album.

It gets to a point where there is nothing left to say. We are all just rambling now.

Matt needs to be put on a leash. I can't believe how unprofessional he has been with all of this. He could be a nice guy in person, but he's been nothing but a joke this past month.

At the end of the New Jersey tour, no one was talking to each other but that passed. Im not saying that will happen again, they are older, different priorities now, families but I don't think its come to the point of no turning back. They just definitely need a break.

I've watched tons of videos and was at the San Jose show. This tour is a good Jon Bon Jovi solo tour, if even. I would have preferred if they did a song or two from one of his solo albums (blaze does not count). That would at least make the shows somewhat more interesting. However, in reality, as people have pointed out, 95% of the audience does not care/notice nor do they want to hear anything but the hits. The stuff from WAN, except for maybe water, sounds weak. I mean come on, Amen?, that's just a Hallelejuah wannabe. At least play the fighter, these two hands, or what's left of me. I think they played what's left of me just a handful of times although, in my opinion, it's probably the strongest songs on the new album.

Glad to see they have someone competent like Phil X filling in. Anymore repeats of puerto rico or calgary would be a disaster.

I must admit, the band has been pretty boring in the last few years and this Richie thing has made things interesting. I hope Richie comes back soon. If not, the band should go on a hiatus.

I would love to hear more Richie solo stuff and even more Jon solo stuff. We don't need another WAN/Circle :shock:

Actually, it started with Dave Sabo, not Richie.

they always were a hard working,trustworthy band now richie destroyed that forever...
after all this time i still feel that richie isnt the only one to be blamed, i dont know but i think if he was handing things differently many of us would be way more sympathetic over him...
i cant STAND the way jon keeps on saying noone fired him...who do you think you are mr ceo to fire your bandmate???...if someone quits or doesnt want to be in the band the band call its quits...how could jon fire richie???ok he is the leader, he is signed with the band but he cant fire him...he would be nothing without him...the same goes for richie as well...
the comment jon made about edge is a disgrace, i dont care how furtsrated he is...he should apologise to richie...cheap shot...and maybe jon wants to prove the show is still as good but its not...richies voice and guitar playing is unique...
i admire the edge for what he is but there are thousand guitar players who could play his part like philx is doing in bj...they would sound like a u2 cover band like bj sound right now...a players magic is what he comes up with, the notes/effects/delays/reverbs can be easily duplicated...jon shouldnt have said sth like that...
jon is obviously smarter than richie is...i realised long ago richie isnt exactly the happy goofy guy he wants to appear...jon should be the bigger man here since he is the leader of the band afterall...
sad news...i still secretely hope for a triumphant return...o2-anyotherday wise...

My one show is tomorrow.... and I'm just so sick of all this now... Frankly, we still don't know zip all.

Pedantic much? That's almost like saying Queen really started as Smile with Tim Staffell singing instead of Freddie.

work for the working man Jon!!!

Still, the band is breaking up so his lyrics in 'Whats Left in me' are very apt!