Rock legends announce FOREVER TOUR following star-studded collaboration album

When Jon Bon Jovi sat down with us at Wembley Stadium recently, he offered an intimate look at his journey back from vocal cord surgery and the band’s preparations for their much-anticipated return to touring. Now, with the announcement of the FOREVER TOUR, those insights feel especially significant.

Jon arrived at Wembley via the London Underground. “I took the tube,” he told us, adding, “It’s so much better than New York. Nice and clean.” This down-to-earth approach from one of rock’s biggest stars would set the tone for the conversation.

Jon was remarkably candid about his medical journey. “I didn’t lose faith, but I had no idea how protracted the recovery would be,” he explained. “The surgeon did an incredible job, but he said to me, ‘I promise you nothing. Stay the course.'”

The timing of his vocal issues couldn’t have been worse. “When we put out the Forever album last June to coincide with the fortieth anniversary and did the documentary, I fully anticipated being able to support it. But as the record was coming out and we started to rehearse, I just wasn’t up to the standard that we’re accustomed to. And there was no way that I would go out any less than a hundred percent.”

“I had been playing Wembley Stadium four nights a week for the last three and a half years, but only to an audience of me,” Jon revealed. “I sing along and play, and I have a whole setup to just work on. The band come in once a month, and then I go on for the other three weeks, and they come in at the end of the month. And we marked the progress.”

The recovery was so long in fact that his Doctor has since retired, but Jon confirms, “I now have his full confidence”.

When we discussed the lyrics from ‘Hollow Man,’ about feeling like “a cheap bouquet of flowers, a one man band,” Jon opened up about the creative process and self-doubt that even legends face.

“Every time you start a process, you can always feel that self-doubt,” he admitted. “There’s a quiet confidence in the self-doubt because I know it’ll eventually come again. But with experience and 18 albums in, I can write it down now.”

His approach to songwriting on ‘Hollow Man’ was spiritual: “I look up into the skies and I say, ‘I’m a hollow man. Fill me up. You’ll give me the information, Lord.’ Here I am. I’m the hollow man. Am I nothing more than a cheap bouquet of flowers and a one man band? And the answer is no.”

Calling on Friends

The FOREVER (Legendary Edition), releasing October 24th, features collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Lainey Wilson, Joe Elliott, Jelly Roll, Jason Isbell, Avril Lavigne, and more. Jon explained how this remarkable project came together:

“When the record did not get its due, I thought of the Beatles song ‘With a Little Help from My Friends.’ And in this day and age, so many people are doing these features, and I thought, why not call around and see who could give me a shoulder to lean on?”

His first call was strategic: “The first guy I called was Robbie Williams, and I knew that he could relate in subject matter to the song ‘We Made It Look Easy.’ He was about to promote this film, he was writing and recording, he was gonna go back on the road, and he got it. So he was the first one to say yes, and it made it easier for me to call number two, three, four, ten.”

Springsteen

Jon’s relationship with Bruce Springsteen brought special meaning to the project. “We’re very close friends. He’s like a big brother to me,” Jon explained. “We’ve often played each other songs throughout the years when we take these now famous drives, and we’ll play each other music.”

“I remember on ‘Hollow Man,’ for instance, he called me back the next day after hearing the demo and said, ‘That’s a very special song.’ So it was easier a year later to say, ‘We’ve never recorded together no matter how much you love ‘Hollow Man’. Why don’t you do that?,’ the one that he felt close to.”

Reflecting on recent albums, Jon traced the path to this celebratory moment: “Our last few albums, when I look back—2016, we put out ‘This House Is Not For Sale,’ and it was a statement record. It really just encapsulates the title… This House, This Heart, This Soul, This House Is Not For Sale.”

He continued: “The next record was 2020, released in the midst of COVID while we were all home dealing with that worldwide.” Jon recalled being at Abbey Road with the Invictus Games choir when COVID news broke: “I was here with the Invictus Games choir, Prince Harry at Abbey Road doing a song called ‘Unbroken’… When the news came on, it said this thing called COVID has crossed over from the continent into the UK. A week later, the country was shut down.”

“So the 2020 record did not get its chance either. It was a topical record, a heavy record, a songwriter’s record, but it wasn’t a joyous record. Then the surgery set in, and the recovery happened. But I felt joy in the process because I knew that the bigger, better me would come out of it, and that the band and I had bonded on a whole another level of love and appreciation for each other.”

When asked about what still drives him after 40 years, Jon offered a beautiful metaphor: “If I get to, metaphorically speaking, hold the light, the band power the light. The audience get the beam of that light, and I get to stand in the reflection of that light. If we get to share light, that will bring me the joy.”

He’s clear about his motivations now: “I’m not chasing the new pop act. Our legacy is what it is. So to me, it is truly about gratitude and joy and this amazing catalogue of music that a lot of people embraced.”

Despite the tour announcement, Jon is focused on the moment. “I’m not thinking about the future or the outcomes. I’m really just being right here right now, and that’s all that I care about. The rest of it, if it happens great, but it’s not about numbers and tomorrows. It’s about being here now.”

He’s always rocking out: “I actually do think of the set list because I really have rock shows at my house four times a week. The beautiful thing is this catalogue is so deep. There could be multiple nights and not a repetition of song, there would still be a chockablock of hits.”

The FOREVER TOUR

In the official tour announcement, Jon stated: “There is a lot of joy in this announcement – joy that we can share these nights together with our amazing fans and joy that the band can be together. I am lucky enough to be able to hold a light out to the audience each night and stand in their reflection for a tremendous collective experience – I get to stand in the WE of our concerts.”

He added: “I’m deeply grateful that the fans and the brotherhood of this band have been patient and allowed me the time needed to get healthy and prepare for touring. I’m ready and excited!”

One Billion Streams In The UK

Jon was presented with an award from the BPI (British Phonographic Industry), celebrating Bon Jovi joining the “Brit Billions” for achieving over one billion streams in the UK alone. “A billion streams just in the UK?” Jon responded with genuine surprise, a reminder that even after four decades, there are still moments that catch this veteran performer off guard.

As Jon said about the FOREVER Legendary Edition: “This album is more than just a collection of collaborations, it is an album borne out of necessity… The result is an album with a new viewpoint and new spirit, a collaboration album that proves we all get by in this world with a little help from our friends.”

Tour tickets go on sale October 31 at bonjovi.com and LiveNation.co.uk.