Jon Bon Jovi has revealed his shock over guitarist Richie Sambora’s abrupt departure from the band in 2013 where he didn’t show up for a concert, mid-tour, in Canada.
Sambora’s absence from that April 3 concert marked a turning point for the band, prompting them to bring in Phil X as a replacement.
“We spoke the day before,” Jon told Classic Rock, detailing his disbelief over the situation.
“He said: ‘Can I stay home one more day?’ ‘Of course. And then the next day the phone rings at three in the afternoon, and, you know… ‘I can’t go on.'”
While Sambora later attributed his exit to creative differences, it’s something the band, and Jon, rejects.
“Personally, thought that everything was going incredibly f–king well. And it was never brought up in the room, or in the writing, or in the recording, or during the first 20 shows of that tour.”
Jon also shed light on the lingering impact of the split, including that the pair have spoken only twice over the last 11 years, before emphatically clarifying that Sambora’s exit was a resignation – not a dismissal – and that there haven’t been any attempts to reunite.
Bon Jovi is set to release their highly-anticipated 16th studio album, Forever, on June 7th.
