Richie Sambora open to potential Bon Jovi reunion at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Alongside the likes of Judas Priest, Dire Straits, Radiohead, MC5, The Cars and Rage Against The Machine, Bon Jovi were nominated for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 on Monday morning (9th October).

The five inductees will be announced in December and they will then be inducted at the Barclays Center ceremony in Brooklyn on 14th April 2018. They will then be immortalised at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Speaking to Billboard about Bon Jovi’s nod – their first nomination since 2011 - Richie Sambora said he’d be open to performing the ceremony next spring if they get voted in.

“Sure. Of course, why not?,” Richie said. “There’s not a lot of malice there, you know. I mean, there’s just - it was just time for me to leave at that point. So yeah, of course.”

Asked about what songs he would potentially like to perform with Bon Jovi, Richie replied: “‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ would have to be one. Prayer is a song that has lived through the ages. It's one of those songs that means more today than when we wrote it.

“When you're a songwriter and you hit that note when everybody relates to it, and it becomes a part of humanity, for God's sake... And you know, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, obviously. With the Rock Hall, you have to almost sum up your life in three songs or so. That's a really tough thing to do, something that the band would decide on.”

Pushed about whether the induction could spark a full reunion with Bon Jovi, Richie added: “You never know. It depends on a lot of stuff. Not like we're talking about it. This thing just happened. Obviously, I think we'd do well. You know what I mean? But honestly, I'm really on to (RSO's) song now. The car's been ready to run.”

Quizzed about his reaction to the nomination, Richie continued: “The Hall of Fame, I mean, I’ve kind of lived it because I used to play with, you know… any time you walk on stage, it's Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Stevie Wonder. The guys I play with have been iconic. It's been an amazing life, because I get a chance to hang out with the Hall of Fame and my peers and my heroes.

“Of course, it's wonderful to be recognized… Like, thank you very much, but I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched, you know what I'm saying? I've been nominated before, so you never know what's gonna happen. And looking at the list of nominees, there's so many great people that I think should've been in already. Like The Cars and Dire Straits and everybody that's up.”

The 2018 nominations list is as follows:

Judas Priest
Bon Jovi
Radiohead
Dire Straits
The Zombies
The Moody Blues
Link Wray
The Cars
MC5
Rage Against The Machine
Depeche Mode
Kate Bush
Eurythmics
LL Cool J
The Meters
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Thorpe
The J. Geils Band