Richie Sambora has hinted at a possible reunion with Bon Jovi. “It’s a possibility,” said the former Bon Jovi guitarist and songwriter during an interview at The Music Industry Trust Awards in London when asked if he would join the band for their first-ever performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2023. “We’re talking a bit.”
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Sambora left the band in 2014 to spend more time with his then-teenage daughter Ava. “It wasn’t a popular decision by any means, obviously, but there was really almost no choice about it,” said Sambora in 2020. “I’m really glad I did it. It’s certainly worked out for our family. Heather [Locklear, Sambora’s ex-wife] is doing very, very well now, and Ava’s doing phenomenally.”
In 2007 and 2011, Sambora went into rehab for alcohol and prescription drug abuse, and despite claims of tension between him and his former bandmates, he joined Jon Bon Jovi and David Bryan on stage in 2018 for Bon Jovi’s 2018 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and performed “Livin’ On A Prayer”, “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “It’s My Life.” The Rock Hall ceremony marked the first time Sambora played with the band in five years since their Because We Can Tour.
Sambora, who joined Bon Jovi in 1983, co-wrote most of the band’s iconic hits with Jon Bon Jovi, including ”I’ll Be There for You,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “You Give Love a Bad Name” and more from the band’s catalog. The pair also began writing songs for other artists around the time Bon Jovi began working on their 1986 album Slippery When Wet, co-writing songs for Cher, Alice Cooper, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Ted Nugent, and more.
Over the past several years, Sambora said he’s had a “never say never” attitude when it comes to reuniting with the band. “It would have to be a special situation for me to go back, but I’m certainly not counting it out,” said Sambora. “I have no malice toward that band.”
Photo: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images
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