Jon Bon Jovi has not been in contact with former bandmate and guitarist Richie Sambora, despite both musicians participating in the upcoming Bon Jovi docuseries Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
The four-part series will debut on April 26 on Hulu and Disney+ internationally. It features various members from Bon Jovi’s past and present, documenting their rise to stardom and precarious future.
When asked if he talked to Sambora about what was going to be in the docuseries, Bon Jovi tells UCR, “Not a word. That was [director] Gotham Chopra. This wasn’t a puff piece and this was no bullshit. This is not us behind the scenes pulling strings. Oh, no, no, no. They interviewed Richie in London. I wasn’t there. I had nothing to do with it. No, I still haven’t seen the [finished] product.”
Sambora abruptly and ambiguously left Bon Jovi “due to personal issues” on April 2, 2013, just hours before the band was scheduled to hit the stage in Calgary. Phil X substituted for Sambora on the rest of the tour and became an official member of Bon Jovi in 2016. Now, the titular frontman tells UCR that although he and Sambora are not on bad terms, there’s been no communication between them lately.
“We’re not in contact because he’s not in the organization any longer,” the singer explains. “Doesn’t mean that there’s not love forever, but it’s 11 years ago that he just didn’t show up anymore. And there were emotional issues that he was dealing with as a single dad, and there were substance abuse issues that, you know … Phil X had to show up one time, and then Phil X had to show up another time. And then, again, there’s a show that night. What are we gonna do?”
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Aside from Thank You Goodnight, Bon Jovi will also release a new album titled Forever on June 7. The lead single, “Legendary,” is available now. The song, with its references to the “brown-eyed girl” who “believes in me,” is an ode to the people and experiences worth treasuring.
“What matters to me anymore is just being here with my friends, writing the song I want to write, living the life I want to live,” Bon Jovi tells UCR. “And my brown-eyed girl, which of course is a Van Morrison nod, but not in this instance — it’s my wife. And she has been there faithfully throughout this process. ‘And the brown-eyed girl, she believes in me, legendary.’ There it is. And that’s who and what I am at 62 years old.”
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Gallery Credit: Anthony Kuzminski
