Rock giants Bon Jovi bring tour to Coventry's Ricoh Arena - The Coventry Observer

Rock giants Bon Jovi bring tour to Coventry's Ricoh Arena

Coventry Editorial 24th Jun, 2019   0

Rock giants Bon Jovi continued their This House Is Not For Sale tour at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on Sunday night.

The veteran rocker – Jon Bon Jovi – looked every inch the iconic superstar as he performed in front of 37,000 fans and belted out many of his classic hits including ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Livin’ On A Prayer,’ along with some of his newer music.

It was the first time since 2006 the band has been back to the city. A fact which wasn’t lost on Jon Bon when he first spoke to the excited crowd: “I’m not gonna waste a lot of time talking to you, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do Coventry!”

There were some new band members this time round too — Phil X has replaced long-time guitarist Richie Sambora and Hugh McDonald joins the band on bass.




Though the rock giants are touring under the title of their latest and thirteenth album – This House Is Not For Sale – the concert was packed with many of the band’s biggest rock anthems spanning their 36-year career. Highlights included a rendition of ‘I’ll Be There For You,’ which saw fans light up the arena with their phones and ‘Bad Medicine’ which had everyone on their feet and singing along.

57 year old Jon Bon Jovi was of course the star of the show and he didn’t disappoint jumping and leaping about the stage like it was still 1983. But guitarist Phil X also shone from start to finish. He looked thoroughly pleased to be a fully fledged member of the band, showing his broad smile as he performed genius guitar riffs at every opportunity on the big screen.


On Monday morning he tweeted: “THANK YOU COVENTRY!! you were AWESOME last night! WHAT A RUN!!!”

He also revealed the band wear earplugs whilst they’re performing on stage. He tweeted: “You can’t really hear the audience and it’s a drag. I take them out before the bow at the end and the audience is SO LOUD. It’s a rush.”

And it certainly was a rush in Coventry. The roar from the crowd reached a crescendo as the boys played their last number ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’ Everyone in the audience was just praying the concert wouldn’t end.

By Claire Bullivant.

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