'I left a piece of my body in Dublin': Jon Bon Jovi reveals a surprise closeness to the city
Rock legend talks to Downtown ahead of next year's big tour
Last updated 7th Nov 2018
Legendary rocker Jon Bon Jovi has told Downtown Radio that Dublin is his favourite spot to perform.
The 56-year-old who has fronted the band for over three decades says he is looking forward to returning to one of his most loved audiences:
“For me personally it’s my favourite place to play,” he tells presenter Neal McClelland.
“I’ve said it a thousand times for thirty years, I want to grow up and be Irish.
“I have great, great memories of that city, great experiences over the years, I left a piece of my body there.
“I actually even had my knee operated on in Dublin so I’ve done it all, I’ve left body parts there.”
Last week the band announced they would be playing the RDS in 2019, as part of their This House is not for sale tour.
According to the singer-songwriter, he has fond memories of the city:
“The good old RDS feels like home,” he said.
“We’ve done them all whether it was Slane or Croke or good old Landsdowne or the Point, we’ve played in just about every place we can.
“The AVIVA wasn’t available so I said ‘I want to go back to the RDS let’s go.”
The American rock and roll band, which was established in 1983, have performed in the city numerous times and Jon tells Neal McClelland he has lasting memories of one particular gig over ten years ago:
“That was the famous night, the rain and the thunder and lightning hit and I fell to my knees and I said ‘I didn’t realise you Irish were so connected,’ and I remember saying that the rain that came down was the angel’s crying because they couldn’t get a ticket to a sold out Bon Jovi show,” he says.
“It’s folklore now but it was all true and I remember it vividly.”
The band have enjoyed over 130 million record sales spanning a 35-year career.
In 2013, there were reports the band’s lead guitarist Richie Sambora had a row with singer Jon Bon Jovi and left the group.
Jon said their new sound and going back on the road for the first time in six years is like a reawakening for the band:
“What’s different with this cycle of records is that we used to put out an album and then chase it around the globe and promote the singles but nowadays you really don’t have to do that because record sales are different in the way records are distributed,” he said.
“We’re very proud of the album, it came in the charts around the globe at number one there and re-emerged at number one there with the stripping of another couple of singles onto it.
“The material was really personal, it’s sort of a rebirth for the band and we’ve been around long enough that we’ve been reborn a few times but this was one of them and there was something to say with the record.
“After the turmoil, after 2013 we needed to find that focal point and the album cover really gave us that picture, it helped me with the title This House is not for sale. It speaks to symbolism of what the band is, the house, the foundation, everything we are as men is represented in the foundation of this band and it was tattered but it was certainly nowhere near done.
“The reinvention of Bon Jovi got bigger and better than ever and Bon Jovi this house is not for sale is a proud moment.”
The Singer-songwriter who is responsible for iconic rock songs such as Livin’ on a Prayer, Bad Medicine and It’s My Life told us the secret of his writing success:
“I guess it’s ultimately writing a song that moves you and then if it moves you chances are that it’s going to move that audience,” he adds.