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http://living.scotsman.com/music/Bon...the.4183585.jp

Bon Jovi : Keeping the faith in life on the open road



Published Date: 13 June 2008
By GARY FLOCKHART
WHEN Slippery When Wet was released in 1986, Rolling Stone magazine opined that it sounded like "bad fourth generation metal", and neglected to mention a track on it that would become a rock anthem.
The song in question was Livin' On A Prayer; the album that spawned it went on to sell 25 million copies. As you might expect, it's Bon Jovi who are laughing now.

Saying that, ask the band's lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi if he feels that hADVERTISEMENTe's finally got the respect he's due, and he'll tell you that depends on how you want to define the word respect.

"Is longevity respect? Is coming home and having your family be proud of you respect?" says the man whose band has charted over 20 hits, including You Give Love A Bad Name, Wanted Dead Or Alive and Lay Your Hands On Me. "I don't know if what you're asking me is, critical acclaim, you know?" he continues. "There are critics' darlings. That I won't be. I got that."

Despite the flak they take for a sound that's often derided as "poodle rock", Bon Jovi were one of the original architects of Eighties stadium rock. They have sold a reputed 120 million albums worldwide and performed more than 2500 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 32 million fans.

With stats like that, it's fair to say Bon Jovi must be livin' on a tad more than a prayer these days.

Even so, when you're one of the most successful acts in music history, four multi-millionaire veteran rockers who have been in the spotlight for more than a quarter of a century, what, you might wonder, gets you back on the road?

"What gets us on the road is its fun," laughs keyboardist David Bryan, whose band play Hampden Park a week tomorrow. "You know, we've always been a band that loves to create music, and then we love to take it out to the people. It's not about the dough for us, it's a matter of having fun.

"Putting that many smiles on that many faces, it's a great thing. And you know, it puts a smile on our faces too," he adds.

Clearly, hard work isn't something this lot are afraid of. Each time they hit the road, Bon Jovi play between four and five two-and-a-half-hour shows each week, with only a couple of short intervals to change clothes and cool down before getting back on stage.

"I have to think every night like I'm a prize fighter going out on that stage, that it's gonna be the last fight," says Jon Bon Jovi. "You'd think, why would I beat myself up like that after 25 years? It's 'cos you want to be the best. I don't want to think anyone's coming in there and gonna be better tomorrow night," he adds.

It's not unusual these days to hear bands complaining about rigorous touring schedules across the continent, but not so Bon Jovi. "You know, after all these years we learned how to do it right now," says guitarist Richie Sambora. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the hard part about being on tour, obviously, is the travel. Being away from your family, and your children and your friends – stuff like that. But we've found a way to make it more tolerable. And obviously, you know, all the great by far outweighs the bad."

Serious unit shifters, they are – but what do the band think is the secret of their success?

"Number one, I think you have to stay true to who you are as an artist," explains Bryan. "And I think we have done that artistically. We've constantly, you know, we weren't thinking too far out of the box.

"When you make a new Bon Jovi record you can't, you know, get too crazy with style and diversity. You have to be consistent in your live shows and make sure every time you play live it's great. And the people are all having a good time. But there's always been good interaction between this band and its fans."

If there is a downside to success, it's being under the glare of the media spotlight – not that Bon Jovi are protesting too much.

"Obviously the infatuation with celebrity and the media is at an all-time high right now," says Sambora. "And I'm in the spotlight all the time, so it's a bit of a pain in the butt, obviously. But, you know, in the cocoon of our touring mechanism we're oblivious to a lot of it sometimes, and other times it seeps through.

"Most of the time we're doing our job – and that job is to go out and make people happy. And have a good time ourselves, too."

And are they succeeding? "Oh yes, quite nicely," laughs Sambora.

• Bon Jovi, Hampden Park, Glasgow, Saturday 21 June, 4.30pm, £40-£75, 0844-847 8000

Edinburgh Evening News/Scotsman.com

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