richie sambora stranger in this town RARE

There was no tour wrap party or celebrations of any kind, and hardly any goodbyes were exchanged. Halfin was shocked by the tension between them, and it was easy to read a lot into how the resulting pictures reflected their lives at the time – tired of each other, tired of the band, burnt out, and looking in different directions both professionally and personally.įollowing the last tour date in Mexico in February 1990, the band members just dispersed and went home individually. They posed in silence with sunglasses on and blank expressions, mostly looking in different directions. The session lasted a few hours, during which the two never exchanged a word.

The latter point was particularly illustrated in a 1990 photo shoot that photographer Ross Halfin had set up involving the group’s two frontmen, vocalist Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora. Relationships within the band had also become strained. As the New Jersey tour drew to a close, the band members were exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. While their albums and tours were smashing successes, there was a human cost. Between 19, they basically lived in suitcases, not having much of a home life. That does not count promotional appearances which were also numerous. It lasted 16 months, passed through over 22 countries, and counted nearly 250 shows.

The tour for that album was even larger than the previous one. After they broke through with their third album Slippery When Wet (released 18 August 1986) they embarked on gigantic world tour for the rest of the decade, only pausing to record follow-up album New Jersey (released 19 September 1988). Few bands in the melodic hard rock genre saw more success towards the end of the 1980s than Bon Jovi.

Richie sambora stranger in this town RARE