Formed 1983, New Jersey, USA: Jon Bon Jovi (John Bongiovi) – vocals; Richie Sambora – guitar; Alec John Such – bass; David Bryan (David Rashbaum) – keyboards; Tico Torres – drums. Bongiovi made his first professional recording in 1980, singing on the Star Wars cash-in album Christmas In The Stars which his brother Tony co-produced. In 1983 Jon Bon Jovi recorded Runaway for a local radio station competition, the success of which led him to form the band and sign a record deal. Runaway became the lead track of Bon Jovi’s eponymous début album in 1984 although neither this nor the following year’s 7800° Fahrenheit met with much success. The band’s breakthrough came in the second half of 1986 when, as prime movers in the so-called “hair metal” movement, top twenty hits You Give Love A Bad Name and Livin’ On A Prayer helped the band’s third album Slippery When Wet to number 6. 1988’s New Jersey became the band’s first number 1 album, although none of its five UK singles reached the top ten; Bad Medicine made number 17 while I’ll Be There For You and Lay Your Hands On Me both peaked at 18.
After a brief hiatus while Jon Bon Jovi released his solo soundtrack to the film Young Guns II, the band returned in 1992 with the funkier Keep The Faith, the second of five consecutive chart topping albums, the title track of which launched a string of top twenty hits over the next fifteen years. A surprisingly early Best Of album Cross Road was supported by the band’s biggest UK single Always (1994, #2), while 1995’s These Days and 2000’s Crush also topped the album chart. The band’s fan base remains loyal; remarkably their next five studio albums Bounce (2002), Have A Nice Day (2005), Lost Highway (2007), The Circle (2009) and What About Now (2013) all peaked at #2, as did a new Greatest Hits album in 2010.
ESSENTIAL ’80s BON JOVI
SINGLES
YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
July 1986, #14
LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER
October 1986, #4
LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME
August 1989, #14
ALBUMS
7800° FAHRENHEIT
April 1985, #28
SLIPPERY WHEN WET
September 1986, #6
NEW JERSEY
September 1988, #1
