“Jon Bon Jovi Responds to Richie Sambora’s Desire to Return to the Band: ‘The Show Must Go On'”

Richie Sambora; Jon Bon Jovi.

Jon Bon Jovi isn’t sure about getting the band back together.

Former Bon Jovi member Richie Sambora revealed last month he’d come back to the music rock group after Bon Jovi, 62, got his voice back after recovering from vocal surgery.

But Bon Jovi himself told Entertainment Weekly Friday that there’s been no decision made regarding Sambora’s return.

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Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora at the 33rd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2018.FilmMagic
“You never say never,” the rocker said. “I mean, he quit the band 11-plus years ago, and he’s had to deal with a lot of things in his life. But there’s no animosity.”

“I’ve made four albums since his departure,” Bon Jovi added. “The band goes on, you know? We’ll see when we get to that point of touring.”

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Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora perform at the 33rd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction CeremonyGetty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The current members of Bon Jovi just put out their 16th album, “Forever.”

The group formed in 1983 with members Bon Jovi, Sambora, 64, David Bryan, Tico Torres, and Alec John Such.

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Bon Jovi’s new album “Forever” came out June 7, 2024.Universal Music Group
Sambora abruptly quit the band when he failed to show up for his plane to Calgary, Alberta, for a concert in April 2013. He decided to stay home to be with his daughter Ava, now 26.

The famous musician recently addressed his controversial exit from the band in the Hulu docuseries “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.”

“I’d like to apologize fully right now to the fans, especially, and also to the guys,” he said in the doc. “My feet and my spirit were just not letting me walk out the door.”

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Bon Jovi performing in Japan on August 4, 1984.Getty Images

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Bon Jovi on stage in 1989.Getty Images
Bon Jovi stopped talking to Sambora after he quit. He opened up about their rift to Entertainment Tonight when the doc came out.

“There was never a fight. It was never about money, it was never about a girlfriend. He had issues … and he literally didn’t show up. We were playing for 20,000 people and there’s a black hole on the stage.”

Since leaving the band in 2013, Sambora has only played with them once, in 2018, at Bon Jovi’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

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Richie Sambora performing at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony Induction in 2018.FilmMagic
But Sambora talked about finally reuniting with his ex-band mates on “The Allison Hagendorf Show” last month.

“The fans will just love it,” Sambora said, adding that he and Bon Jovi “talked about” him rejoining the band, so long as Bon Jovi gets his voice back.

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Jon Bon Jovi at a gala in Philadelphia.Ouzounova / SplashNews.com
“I’ll go play. I got songs. I swear to God,” Sambora continued. “It’s the honest-to-God truth. I told everybody that I would, without a doubt, go back. The world needs it. We need hope.”

Bon Jovi underwent surgery for his vocal cords in 2022. He told People in April that he works with vocal coaches and does daily voice exercises to get better.

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David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi and Tico Torres of Bon Jovi at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on June 8, 2024.Getty Images
More recently, the “It’s My Life” singer said that he isn’t ready to go on tour yet to support the band’s new album.

“It’s a work in progress,” he explained to The Guardian. “There’s no miracle. I just wish there was a f–king light switch. I’m more than capable of singing again. The bar is now: can I do two and a half hours a night, four nights a week? The answer is no.”