Bon Jovi | Live at Monsters Of Rock | Donington 1987 - YouTube
In 1987, two years after their first there, Bon Jovi headlined the "Monsters of Rock" festival in Donington! That year's event proved to be the only one with just American bands in the line-up. As successful as playing to an audience of 97,000 people might've been, it was like going through hell for Jon:
"That first Donington festival [1985] actually was a good gig for us; you're in that great poised-to-happen slot. And then we came back and we headlined, and I was ready to die! We shouldn't have been there. I was really too physically ill. I should have enjoyed that period of my life, but I didn't get a chance because of the huge explosion of that album and that tour and everything and our desire to just go go go! We were burned! I couldn't sing and we looked like death. And it wasn't just that show, it was the whole time. I was shot up with steroids and anything else they could give me to keep me working. I was a a total wreck. I didn't know it at the time, but I know it now. The powers that be should have said **** it, go home, go sleep for six months, and they didn't..."
The start of the show already went off the rails: Jon had climbed up the stage to make a spectacular entrance by sliding down a rope which went completely unnoticed since the people working the spots for the band members weren't on their place in time. The same thing caused Richie to fall down the stage's stairs during the start of Raise Your Hands. Audience videos of this and I'd Die For You are linked in the final 20 seconds of this upload.
For the grand finale, Paul Stanley, Dee Snider and Bruce Dickinson joined Bon Jovi on stage. The first two had already jammed with the band back in the US three weeks earlier. Metallica were also invited, but declined after Bon Jovi had flown over the festival site with a helicopter during their set earlier that day.
Setlist:
01. Pink Flamingos [0:00]
02. Raise Your Hands [3:21]
03. I'd Die For You [8:21]
04. Tokyo Road [12:51]
05. Jon greeting audience [19:24]
06. You Give Love A Bad Name [21:26]
07. Wild In The Streets [24:59]
08. Jon talking #1 [30:06]
09. Not Fade Away [31:12]
10. Never Say Goodbye [33:39]
11. Livin' On A Prayer [39:16]
12. Let It Rock [44:52]
~ We Will Rock You [50:22]
13. Guitar Solo [56:43]
14. Drum Solo [1:01:37]
15. Get Ready [1:03:01]
16. Jon talking #2 [1:09:13]
17. Runaway [1:09:57]
Encore:
18. Wanted Acoustic Intro [1:18:05]
19. Wanted Dead Or Alive [1:23:24]
20. Drift Away [1:29:38]
21. Jon introducing jam guests [1:36:54]
22. Travellin' Band [1:38:20]
23. We're An American Band [1:43:12]
