My observations where:

1. There was a lot of tension between Jon and Richie for example at the 121212 Concert or the BBC Concert in 2013
2. Richie seemed in fine form and didn't appear to have a drug or alcohol problem
3. When Jon tells the story about Calgary he says that his manager called in his room and as soon as that happened he assumed that Richie isn't coming, he has told that multiple times so I think it's true
Why would he assume that if he and Richie weren't having big problems already

Everyone has their own opinion but in my opinion there must have happened a lot of things before and Calgary was only the tip of the iceberg and Calgary only plays a part why Richie isn't in the band now. There must be a lot of things in the background that nobody knows and will ever know because neither Jon and Richie will tell about it.

Agreed. There are a couple of things we as fans know from interviews and combind background stories, but I'm sure that we, at best, know 30-40% of everything that really happened up until that Calgary show.
Bon Jovi have never aired their laundry in public and this is no different. Assuming that we know the TRUTH about what happened is quite a stretch. We don't.
Same story as with Alec, there surely were many things behind closed doors that they never spoke about.
Why would've Jon said in the "Master Class" interview in 2012:
"God bless him, he never wrote a book, he never told the tales in the media, he quite the business!"
If what got leaked to the press would've even been close to the full story, then there was no need for him to phrase it like that.
Same story with Richie. It's all going in circles :D

you got offended for that?
I’m sorry! (I thought everyone knew it, ops); wait a minute! so how the hell I know? you didn’t post your age here before?

anyway, I’m too real with things, that’s why I’m always crying with this Richie thing...

Fixed that for you. ;)

(FYI: what one knows is not the same as what one believes or thinks; and knowing something is not the same as surmising or concluding, based on information gathered from a variety of sources. That would be theory.)

Anyway... Buckle up; this might get long. Really long, even by my standards. Cos I got a lot of 'splainin' and some 'pologizing to do. But I just had an epiphany. You're right. It really doesn't matter. (Mark that down, but stay tuned because it's gonna get even better.). :)

You (and from this point forward "you" refers to you and others here, who hold opinions similar to yours) believe we know everything there is to know about this situation; so you'll continue to hold Richie's behavior (past and present) against him. The "why" isn't important because you're sure you already know all his reasons and you don't think they justify his actions, or perhaps because you find his actions inexcusable, regardless of his reasons. You know that he hurt Jon's feelings, let the band down, didn't care about the fans, and may have jeopardized a tour, which only by the grace of God (or creative accounting) managed to make hundreds of millions of dollars instead of losing that amount.

So until he has paid whatever penance you deem acceptable and has groveled his way back into your good graces, and probably kissed Jon's ring - or something - you have decided that he doesn't deserve to be allowed back into the band.

And since you see his playing as sloppy, rusty, or less than perfect, and you know that he's so ****ed up from drinking and drugging, or too busy shagging his teenage girlfriend, that it's never going to get any better, he's never gonna be more than an inconvenience or a burden anyway, and the band has enough problems without adding a ****ed-up, washed-up, guitar player who can't play any better than the lead singer can sing, especially since neither of them can command the stage like they used to. Even if his vocal harmonies (also less than perfect) and his on-stage chemistry with Jon brings back some of the magic that's been missing for 5+ years, and even if he and Jon both looked happier to be performing together than either of them have semed to be on his own, that doesn't change the way you see things. Richie's always gonna be an unreliable loser as far as you're concerned.

I get that.

Using your criteria for "knowing", based on all the comments I've read for the last 5 years, I know that's how you see things. And I finally understand why you see things that way.

I absolutely and totally disagree with the biggest part of it, because I'm just as sure that we don't know the whole story. Just a few weeks ago, Richie said flatly that, yes, there IS a backstory; but he's not going to discuss it because it would be classless to do so. Last October in Chicago, he said that people were pissed off because they wanted to know what happened; then he said, "and I ain't telling!" Those two statements, without anything else, should show anyone who's paying attention that there are some things that haven't yet been made public, and may never be. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that, at the very least, those details are missing from the "full story" that you know. I realize that we may never know the full story because everybody knows this band doesn't do tell-alls. However, until we do, which may be never, I personally don't think we should cast stones.

But that's the hitch. (And here's the 'even better' part I promised). Not only do I agree that you were right about it not mattering, but I also have to concede that Seb was right (God help us!), or partially right. Not about everything; but about a couple of the things he said about my posts. I say 'partially', because I still don't think I've been guilty of trying to wipe Richie's slate clean, or re-writing history, or not connecting dots; and I'm pretty sure that I've never told people that their opinions are wrong. But I suppose that I have attempted to hold people to my personal standards by implying that they shouldn't judge without all the facts. And the fact is, that's not my call. People are free to think and judge as they see fit. Because the other thing Seb was right about is that that's my problem, not theirs. Just because I think it's unfair to judge without all the facts and just because I don't think all the facts are in, doesnt mean everyone should see it that way.

So, consider this a mea culpa to any of you who feel like I've challenged your right to think what you want to think about Richie (or anything else). It was never my intent to imply that you were wrong if you didn't see things the way I did. My only goal was to point out things in a different light. In the future, I will do my dead-level best to stay out of the way when you start slinging arrows and just walk away from the sandbox when I think you're having way too much fun dredging up ancient history or just digging up dirt. I promise to stop trying to break the death-grip some of you have on your anger and resentment, since from your point of view, it's entirely justified. You win. I've dropped the sword, put down my shield. To coin another phrase. :D

I can almost hear the victorious shouts of "Finally! No more novel-length posts. No more repeated babbling of nonsense!!" I feel your sighs of relief from here.

Ding! Dong! The witch is dead! Go forth and celebrate! Hang 'im high, if you want, with no further interference from me.

In other words, carry on, my friends!

Thank you Jackie, it doesn't seem like a defeat at all! Enough is enough and who was meant to understand that there may be more to the story, got it.

Passing a judgement without knowing the full story *and ignoring the holes in it* is ridiculous but this is the way many humans work anyway *what but not why*, so you'd better save your breath and focus on enjoying your life without constant marking and correcting *and being marked and corrected, too!*. Even teachers take a break!

O_O oh!
Come on people!!
in JBJ words: "Time judges everything."

Jackie, once a posts starts with "buckle up, this might take long" I'm done...Either bullets or cliff notes please...

But there are no holes in the story. Some people are good at hiding their alcohol and drug issues in public... I never knew Tom Petty was the mess that he was...

Richie hid a lot well but his post Bon Jovi interviews were a complete mess... His awkward moments, his speech, even his sloppy playing is not the Richie Sambora I grew up with... I've been following this band for a long time and know when something is off... His binge rehabs were just band aids...

The way he would grab Orianthi and the comments he made about her almost came off abusive.

Sure he missed his daughter, sure Jon is a work-a-holic, but a sober and straight Richie Sambora would have finished the tour... That's the story... clear as day...

You can come up with all the conspiracy theories you want but that's it...








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What song was that from?

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No one denies Richie's addictions here, RDK, it's just two things are rather baffling:

1. Richie looked fitter and better in 2012 than ever before and he said in some interview he'd just battled some dangerous shit in his life so he was definitely in great shape. It's that he fell apart AFTER leaving the band *he's basically still fighting*

2. Richie said some time ago that there is a backstory to the whole drama but he won't tell. Are you implying that he's lying then? Or implying that THIS IS the backstory he's talking about?

Personally, I'd rather believe there was something really bad going on between him and Jon because the tension was palpatable months and months prior to Richie's "abrupt departure" from the band. To me THAT is the backstory that makes most sense. And even if it turned out that it was the truth, we would still be speculating anyway bc there's no way they would tell it all...

Things don't look as hopeless as they used to not so long ago so some ice definitely melted there.

1. Richie goes on Rehab binges where he'll be clean and looks great for a month and then he falls of the wagon quickly...

2. Of course there is drama, they are rock stars... but Jon swearing on a stack of bibles is pretty convincing that he was blindsided...

Sure, I want to see them together again but I understand if it never happens... I just think that if Richie does come back, it's going to be on a limited basis... He's proven to be unreliable since 2007...

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