It’s been a decade since Richie Sambora rocked alongside Jon Bon Jovi in the band the two co-founded in Sayreville, N.J. in 1983. But to hear Sambora, 64, tell it, the time might be just right for a reunion to celebrate the beloved group’s 40th anniversary.
“There’s a documentary that’s being done about the band and stuff that I’ve participated in, and people want to come see us play, and it’s going to make everybody happy,” the Bon Jovi co-founder told People. “I mean, essentially, that’s why you do it at this point.” Sambora suggested that some talks have been taking place about him returning to the group he left in 2013 in the middle of a tour.
And though the details behind the split have never officially been hashed out in public, Sambora sounded very confident that time might heal old wounds. “So yeah, it definitely could happen,” he said of a possible reunion. “It’s just a question of when everybody’s ready to go do it. It will be a big, massive kind of undertaking.” In 2020, Sambora told People that he had no regrets about stepping aside from his main gig to focus on his relationship with his daughter Ava, now 26. “It wasn’t a popular decision by any means, obviously, but there was really almost no choice about it,” he said at the time.
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At press time Sambora said there was no additional information or timeline for a possible rapprochement, adding, “it’s time to do it, though… this is our 40th anniversary, but I feel younger than ever. I’m having a ball.” A spokesperson for Jon Bon Jovi could not be reached for at press time for a comment on Sambora’s interview.
Sambora co-founded BJ with singer Jon Bon Jovi, original bassist Alec John Such, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres and he co-wrote some of the band’s most iconic hits, including “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Following his departure, Sambora was replaced by guitarist Phil X, who continues to tour and record with the group.
Though singer Bon Jovi has not publicly discussed a potential reunion, this isn’t the first time Sambora has expressed an interest in rejoining the band. Back in 2018 when Howard Stern inducted the Jersey giants into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and they appeared together on stage, Sambora said “everybody falls back into place… it feels great to see everybody. We already rehearsed and it was wonderful, it wasn’t awkward.”
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