Sure if you are talking about Coldplay or any other band with a pop audience. But the rock audience is different. Sure Bon Jovi had a pop audience in the past when Always come out, but those five minute fans dissapeared years ago. To be honest, the bands profile has been so low here that those people probably don't even realise that the band are still going!

You will always get the odd person who likes Livin' On A Prayer and wanted to see it live, but the majority of the audience at a Bon Jovi show in 2018 is going to be a rock crowd. Ask anyone in the crowd the name of the guitarist and 90% of them will know it. Same way that most of the audience will know the album cuts, not just the singles!

Not having that. A lot of bands are known by the singer and lead guitarist

Jon and Richie
Keef and Mick
John and Paul
Axl and Slash
Steve and Joe
Ozzy and Zakk
Billy and Steve Stevens

to name a few off the top of my head.

I would think a stadium is easier because so much more gets drowned out.

I agree with a lot of this.. Even if Richie can bring in 10% more, that could equate to 15 thousand more seats... Trust me, if they start promoting a European run with Richie's name attached it, it's going to spark attention...

In addition, have a relevant opening act. There is nothing wrong with that. Not just to fill seats but to add hype...

I think a solid opening act or two plus Richie (and Phil), they could definitely do a stadium run across Europe.

Bon Jovi may not be as relevant but they are now legendary.

There was an article in the July Edition of Classic Rock Magazin about RSO. And it started like this:

There are three things that Richie Sambora wants you to know. Firstly, he doesn´t regret leaving Bon Jovi. Secondly, he has no plan to rejoin Bon Jovi. And thirdly, there´s absolutly nothing weird about the fact that he´s recorded a version of Sonny & Cher´s cornball duet from 1968 I got you babe....


Then later in the article when asked if he would rejoin the band:
"There´s no talk of it whatsoever. Why would there be? Just think about it. They´re on the road, they´re doing what they´re doing - maybe that´s his new band, that´s his new sound, and that´s fine. When I quit, I didn´t plan on returning. But you never say never. You never know what´s gonna happen, especially in this business. Quitting for me was the right decision. For a lot of other people it wasn´t..."

We can speculate what we want here - the guy won´t be back with the band. Not for a record and not for any kind of tour.

And that's what makes the HoF performance so special.

That may very well be the last time he (and Alec) ever perform with the band, and that's okay.

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That "explanation" is no excuse for him having behaved like an absolute dickhead. Leaving the band mid-tour without an announcement of any kind and putting Jon through hell, f*ck Richie...

Sorry. I'm just being honest.

Im am pretty sure that if there is a last Bon Jovi Tour he will participate in some kind of way (in the last concert or the complete tour or whatever).

"When I quit, I didn´t plan on returning." conflicts with him trying to get back in and Jon not letting him doesn't it?

Right now Jon is finishing the This House tour at the end of year (I hope this is the end of it)...

They need to figure out what is next for 2019 and forward...

Of course we are totally speculating on Richie coming back...

In regards to that interview above. I wouldn't expect him to say anything different... his ego is too big to admit any vulnerability and he's also not the same Richie who left... His personality has been altered by whatever so he's just a hot mess right now... Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland!!!

The biggest take away from all that was Richie basically saying Never Say Never... He's not closing the door...

Next summer is a year away and a lot can change...

I don't think he'll even rejoin Bon Jovi as a full time member but I think he'll join a few shows for the right amount of money...

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I think that would depend on when he actually quit and why.


In their coverage of the CBS Sports story about Jon wanting to buy the Bill's, ESPN said:

"Last week" in this case would have been the week of Nov 17, 2013. According to Jon and Phil-X, Richie didn't officially quit until Nov of 2014, iirc.

I don't think such an agreement ever will happen.

How should this work out? Although I don't believe in it but let's assume his presence will help the ticket sales...if he only returns for certain shows it will piss off the audiences from the other shows where he doesn't play with the band even more.
How is the band supposed to explain the fans that on leg "X" Richie is with them but the audience on leg "Y" has to be pleased with some hired-gun?
That would destroy any credibility the band has left.

He either has to rejoin the band fulltime or he is out. Something in between won't work.

That's a pretty good point...

I don't think Jon is one for labels either...like 'the reunion tour'

That's kinda why I was going in the compilation direction... Jon could work it into the promotion. 'Richie is going to come and help out play some older material from lost songs'

However we could speculate all we want. At the end of day, this is who Bon Jovi is now and I think Jon's pride is bigger than money (as much as most might disagree)... The minute Richie comes back to help fill seats, is the day Richie wins.. I agree, it'll never happen that way....

Every time someone said Jon will never be able to do X again, he does... He'll figure out Europe even if he needs stronger opening acts or whatever...




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Based on some of his more recent comments, I think Richie has reached the point where the feeling is mutual. He said there's a backstory that he won't discuss because he has more class than that. If former fans refuse to even consider that there could be more to it than we know, and have so little faith in him that they believe he would have done what he did without a very good reason, then **** 'em.

Quite frankly, I don't blame him. If that's the way you feel, you're free to move on down the road. If that grudge you're carrying gets too cumbersome, maybe you'll drop it somewhere along the way. If not, that's your choice. You're the one hauling it around, not Richie.

I just waiting what will be the next step. I hope it is a solo album. And it don't take another 5 years, I hope it's something that comes soon. That would be my wish about Richie.

Back with Bon Jovi? nah, I think that is not the time yet, they will be reunited in 2023 with a new album, 10 years after the drama, and will travel to Europe and other countries in 2024 coinciding with the 40th anniversary.

I see that more plausible.

Until Jon reaches out to Richie, he's going to continue with the 'I don't regret any decision' hoopla...

They were all buddy buddy at the RNRHOF but I seriously doubt there's been any communication since... No reason for it at this point...

Richie is probably waiting for the call from Jon and probably thought he would have gotten it by now... That's why he keeps calling it an imitation bla bla bla...

Sorry Richie, but I don't think that call is coming any time soon buddy!!!

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So when it was demanded we have a thread strictly about Richie now that RSO is done is this why? So we can go around in circles. One side's "Richie is in shambles and the call ain't coming" and the other's "read between the lines". I thought this was going to be for new information, not the usual pile-on?

Why on earth would you think that?

:rofl:

This is more about Richie in general... the other was about a new release that just happen to take four years...

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Of course he says that. And maybe it's true. Or perhaps it isn't. But either way, would you respond any differently if you were in his shoes?

I doubt that Richie's waiting on a phone call that isn't coming any time soon. Not because I necessarily believe that Jon's going to call, but because I'm pretty sure that Richie knows the situation better than we do. And he knows Jon better than we do. And if chances are slim that he's gonna get call, then Richie probably accepted that fact a long time ago.

What do you mean "keeps on calling it an imitation"? The only time I remember Richie saying anything remotely similar to that was when he said fans wanted the real thing. And that was once, in 2013. Maybe I missed it, but as far as I know, in the past few years, he hasn't even commented on the current band beyond what he said in Rock Candy.

He made similar references a bunch of times

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I think you're mistaken; but I'm willing to be proven wrong. ;)

I've heard it mentioned at least three times... Knocking down Phil as well

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You may be right. I was wrong in thinking the Coke comment was was in 2013 and that it was only time he said something like that. It was actually in Feb 2014; but there was a similar comment in May of 2013 when he said Jon wanted to see if he could sell out stadiums by himself, but people had paid to see Bon Jovi and they weren't getting "the whole deal."

I also remember there was one interview where the guy asked him what he thought about Phil-X as his replacement and he said something like Phil's a good guitarist; but he's not the original, or he didn't write those songs, or something like that. Some people took that as a put-down; but I think it was just an awkward question. I'm not sure how else he could have answered it. And I know when he was interviewed about the RRHOF, he said "both Shanks and Phil-X are great guitarists, in their own right."

Unless you've heard him say something more recently, I'm still at a loss to see how 2 or 3 comments translates to he "keeps on" talking about the band being an imitation. But it's not that big a deal. That phrase just struck me as odd and I was curious.

What about if we now demand this thread must be a sticky?

I mean... who cares talent shows or twitter??? -_-

how appropriate! lol

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmDjbFVATJn/

Hehe it was probably Richie's idea. :) take the hint Jon! :D

Why?
For God or for the pic together? or both? >_< jajaj

Something is very off with all of this...

I could see saying 'it's not the real thing' if he was fired... but to leave on your own and then bash it is very odd to me...

It's almost like he wants the band to fail or break up...

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He didn’t leave the band willingly. He was too messed up to make Calgary, Jon flipped and hasn’t allowed him back.

I’m pretty sure he’d jump at the chance of a reunion but knows that call’s never coming.

(Did you mean "wanted" the band to fail? Remember, this was at least 4 years ago.)

When these statements were first published it started a whole new level of Richie hate because ppl said "He's bashing the band. How dare he? He's the one who left." I didn't understand their outrage then any more than I understand your comment now.

Here's why: Any number of ppl here have said repeatedly "it's not BJ without Richie" (or as Richie said, "it's not the real thing") and a lot of people were disappointed when they found out that they were going to see a Richie-less Bon Jovi (or as Richie said, "fans have paid to see Bon Jovi and they're not getting the whole deal").

So when Richie was only saying the same things that fans here were saying, how did that imply that he was bashing the band or wanted the band to fail? Do you think the fans who made those comments wanted the band to fail? Were they trashing the band?


As for why he would say that when he was the one who left, don't forget that there were also rumors that he wanted to go back to the band but Jon wouldn't let him. And that "rumor" was supported in the same statement. Here's the whole thing.

(That also ended any further references to rehab/drinking from Jon. He went back to "personal issues" for the remainder of the BWC tour forward until he started THINFS promos.)

Richie bashed Phil as recent as the Hall Of Fame...

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If you are referring to the "What's it like to be me without the girls and money comment" that was hardly a bash was it. Jesus...

I agree with Captain, it just seems you wanted this other thread so that you had another place to spout the same old bullshit you always do, which is mostly factually incorrect. Jackie gives examples, along with actual articles and date that thins were said. You just said, yeah I remember this being said. Truth is your oen memory is often far from accurate. If you are making these claims back them up, or shut the hell up.

Had enough of your shit once again...

I'm a Richie fan regardless of what you might think... If he played locally, I'd go in a second... I'm just a realist and I know the truth hurts... I'll stop right now if it make you and Jackie feel better...

And no, I seriously created this thread because RSO is over and Richie should have his own...

Again, I'll only react to recent stuff going forward (unless it connects to the past)...

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I've never questioned whether you were a Richie fan or not...I just got tired of you beating the same dead horse over our heads again and again and again...

The truth may or may not hurt, but we don't know because most of it is purely specualtions and the rest of it is opinion. The only people that know the truth are Jon and Richie...

I will look forward to information about what Richie is doing next is posted here and I hope that it's not too long and we don't have to wait another 4 or 5 years...

Oh yeah? Why do you think Richie suddenly fell off the wagon right before a show when he was literally in a very good shape and was being praised for how healthy he was looking and how well he was performing? It just doesn't make sense to me. I don't think it's a 'he fell off the wagon again and Jon got pissed' situation. The issue is probably much deeper.

While I don't buy he fell off the wagon, he didn't seem as erratic and mumbly as he does when he's inebriated were people really praising his performances the short amount of time he was on the tour for? To be fair none of the band was firing on all cylinders that leg but I don't recall praise he was getting.

Don't worry about Jackie; she's fine. Debates don't bother me. Obviously, since I contribute as much to the issue as you do. (I'm reasonably certain that I'm the other side of that debate that "keeps going in circles" Captain Jovi referred to. I take exception to "reading between the lines", in this particular case; but I figured that, by that point, no one cared about any objective proof, so I dropped it. ) :)

The issue with only reacting to recent stuff going forward is that, in all likelihood, even that will probably connect with Richie - directly, or because someone makes a comparison, or raises a question, or can't resist a snarky comment (because they can't let go of the past), or for any number of reasons. And then we're off on another round.

Short of forbidding any reference at all to Richie, I don't know that there's a solution. He was just too big a part of the band for too long and people still have strong feelings about what happened.

I’m not saying he fell off the wagon outright but was in no fit state to travel to the show in Calgary. And yes, it’s pretty obvious things were tense between them prior to the no-show.

I wasn't directly referencing you. There's a few people who encourage people to not take everything at face value and there has to be more to the story etc. Both sides the situation are needed to keep the debate going and short of Jon and Richie saying "Here's what happened" it's going to keep going and I no longer understand why this thread was needed. If it were just one place to bitch about Richie then I'm aaaaaaaaaall for it.