March 14, 1983. A landmark date in the history of international music. He was formed that day in Sayreville, New Jersey, one of the greatest rock bands of all time: Bon Jovi. Needless to say about the infinity of conquests that fill his four decades of life or his hundreds of unforgettable moments. But we want to save “a few pearls” they left us at LOS40 studios. This first interview in which Joaquín Luqui asked Jon: “Are you a sex symbol?” or the moment they realized they were”a bunch of people.” Years later, Jon Bon Jovi confessed that Luqui had been “the main driver of the group’s success”.
“A band of the people… for the people”
Bon Jovi knew it from birth: “We were a band for the people.” The group came to this conclusion when their first song, Run awaywas rejected by record companies: “The A&R houses told me ‘Oh, we’re so sorry!'” In a 1994 interview for LOS40, Jon told Joaquín Luqui: “She’s very curious, has an unconventional history. It’s a song that I wrote and tried to get a record deal with, but i was unlucky“.
Faced with the rejection of record companies, the idea comes to him to accompany his demo on a radio: “So I did the weirdest thing: I went to a radio station and played a DJ because I thought a guy who spends his life sitting in a small room, talking into a microphone, playing records four to six hours a day, had to love music. And I played it to this DJ, he liked the song and started playing it on his radio station“. And that’s when people started listening to it and companies started paying attention. “The memories I have are wonderful because people liked it despite the record company guys, the industry guys. And then you realize you’re a bunch of people.”.
Making History in LOS40
Almost a decade after that first single, Bon Jovi made LOS40 history. On November 19, 1992, the North American group offered the first Básico 40. While touring to present their fifth album, Keep the Faith, the band from New Jersey inaugurated a new format which would become one of the great milestones of the chain. The entire band appeared in the central studios of Gran Vía, 32 to perform an acoustic set of six songs, including Livin’ on a Prayer or Bed of roses.
Bon Jovi during his Basic 40 concert / LOS40
“What the Beatles, Stones or Elvis Presley Could Never Do”
The band of the people and for the people that made LOS40 history also had the honor of becoming the first rock band to legally release an album in the Soviet Union. In 1988, their fourth studio album – New Jersey – was released Beyond the Iron Curtain, making Bon Jovi the first band officially authorized by the Soviet government.. “just to have one the opportunity to say “yes, we were the first band to release an album in Russia”. ‘Cause the Beatles, the Stones, Elvis Presley, anybody…could never put out a record because of communism…it was against the law“, revealed Jon Bon Jovi in LOS40.
Bon Jovi at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989 / Getty Images/Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music
A year later, in August 1989, they played live at Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium) in front of over 200,000 young people. Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Alec John Such and Tico Torres took part in the Moscow Peace Festival with Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osborne and Scorpion. Considered the Soviet Woodstock, it was surprising that the Soviet authorities allowed it to be held.
“Are you a sex symbol? »
Throughout the four decades of Bon Jovi’s life, John Francis Bongiovi carried his image as a “sex symbol” like ballast. He himself has said many times, “I hate it…if you tell me I’m the best songwriter, thank you. But this ‘sex symbol’ thing…it’s not for Me.”
Jon Bon Jovi in his concert at the Super Rock 84 festival / Getty Images/Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music
In 1992, Joaquín Luqui dropped the question: “Are you a sex symbol?” Jon clarified: “I’m not worried the girls think we’re a cute bunch, we thank them, hope their boyfriends aren’t in town. I don’t care about that kind of stuff, if you like good music that’s the most important… being on a poster is good but it’s not the most important“.
“He was the main driver of the group’s success”
In February 2013, LOS40 traveled to Berlin to talk to Bon Jovi members about their new album, What about now. 8 years had passed since the death of Joaquín Luqui and Tony Aguilar’s question was obligatory: “I feel that I am taking the place of a person whom I know you loved very much – just like me -, Mr. Joaquín Luqui . I want him to tell me about himself and remind me why he was always talking about you, all day.”
Jon Bon Jovi’s response was surprising: “It’s easy to talk about him because he’s there and I’m there. We were able to start this relationship. He was the main driver of the group’s success. The support we’ve had from Joaquín has been great. There have only been a handful of people like him on the planet in the last 30 years.. He’s gone, but I know that he’s still there because our music is still there playing on every radio station in the country.”