TEN QUESTIONS WITH
He’s played 50,000-seater stadiums and entertained royalty, but why has he never been to Glastonbury?
What’s the secret to 40 years of rock ’n’ roll success and a 35-year marriage? Jon Bon Jovi has let the cameras in to chart his band’s next chapter, while also looking back at their time in the spotlight and the toll it has taken…
There’s a scene in the first episode of Thank You, Goodnight: the Bon Jovi Story where Richie Sambora, the band’s former guitarist, asks the off-camera director: “Are we going to tell the truth or are we going to lie?’ How close does the documentary come to the truth?
Oh, it’s the truth. All the band interviews were done separately, so it’s everyone’s honest-to-God truth of what happened.
I think that makes for good storytelling, because it’s warts and all.
In the documentary you talk about how much fellow New Jersey rock star Bruce Springsteen inspired you. What have you learnt from him?
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band made the impossible possible because they were from 30 miles south of my bedroom. They were writing songs about the places that I lived, and you could be 16 and run into one of the E Street Band.
That was inspirational to me.
Later Bruce taught me how to be a better performer and how to be a better writer. Now he and I get to talk about things that few people have experienced.
You’ve played to sold-out stadiums for decades — is the adulation addictive?
No, not for me – if it’s five people or 50,000, it’s the same rush. I just want to be great every night. I’ve played the biggest stadiums and it’s no different to if I were playing in a local restaurant. The size of the audience doesn’t validate you, it just means people like the music enough to pay for a ticket. The size doesn’t mean anything because there’s always going to be somebody bigger.
I can’t believe you guys have never played Glastonbury…
I was never a big festival guy. I really like my own stage and my own monitors and I want a nice dressing room. I’ve never been to Glastonbury to experience it, but I would play at the festival. I just haven’t had the opportunity.
Taylor Swift is a fan of yours — she and Prince William were your backing singers during a rendition of Livin’ on a Prayer when you performed at Kensington Palace. Do you admire her?
Most definitely.
She’s connected with an audience that is unique to her.
She’s a talent who will be around now for the rest of her life. She’ll be the Dolly Parton of her generation.
I have nothing but respect for what she’s accomplished.
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