A little over three weeks ago, Bon Jovi played their last of three shows at London's Wembley Stadium to close out the Forever Tour so far. And if that was going to be their final show, they did swap in a couple of little surprises, while keeping the same structure they've been using since the tour began.
London, England - Wembley Stadium #3 - 9 September 2026
With a Little Help from My Friends - The Beatles cover
Beautiful Drug
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Legendary
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Bed of Roses
Have a Nice Day
These Days
This House Is Not For Sale
It's My Life
Livin' on a Prayer
Raise Your Hands
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
Hey God
Love's the Only Rule
Keep the Faith
Encore:
I'll Be There for You
Wanted Dead or Alive
Bad Medicine
Always
"Love's the Only Rule" and "Captain Crash" made their tour debuts.
Selected videos from Wembley #3
Love's the Only Rule - a little tepid but if they played it more, it would probably be better as Jon's confidence often plays a key role in how a performance comes across. Still one of my favourite songs from The Circle:
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars - This song has always been cheesy, poppy fun that made me smile on Crush, although I don't know if Jon was concentrating too hard on his vocals to really enjoy it until the end.
Always - Jon giving early leavers a bit of stick before ending the tour for the known future (as no other shows have been announced at this stage:
Thinkin' on a prayer
Part of me had wondered if this was it for Bon Jovi as a live act, even as another part of me thought, "surely they're not going to give up the likely ticket sales boost of billing something as a farewell tour!"
But Jon said during the show that they were indeed planning to tour again in about five months' time, which would be around February 2027. I rate him as a songwriter and would have been fine with the rest of his music career being based in the studio, but presumably he thinks he can handle touring again after this test run, so good for him.
Jon has effectively had to relearn how to
use his voice. I'm proud of him for the work he's done. As a front
man and entertainer, he's getting his mojo back and not clinging to his
mic stand all the time, and that's awesome to see. But I'm also acutely aware that
for all the fan and marketing hype, he's still nowhere near the top of
his game vocally and... I don't think he ever will be again. He's made me eat my words before though. Please can he do it again? 🙏
Bon Jovi took to the stage at Wembley for the second of three London shows. I was expecting, or at least hoping, for a couple of switch-ups after three identical set lists in a row on the Forever tour, but here's what was played.
London, England - Wembley Stadium #2 - 6 September 2026
With a Little Help from My Friends - The Beatles cover
Beautiful Drug
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Legendary - featuring James Bay
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Bed of Roses
Have a Nice Day
These Days
This House Is Not For Sale
It's My Life
Livin' on a Prayer
Raise Your Hands
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Hey God
Keep the Faith
Encore:
I'll Be There for You
Wanted Dead or Alive
Bad Medicine
Always
Not identical, but very, very close. Though I guess doing a duet with James Bay is technically a switch-up. And I'm glad "Hey God" and "These Days" have survived.
Videos from Wembley #2
Legendary - I sometimes sound like I dissing this song because I think "Living Proof" should have been the lead single... but "Legendary" is perfectly fine on the album, and it's fun live. James Bay does have a better voice and tone than Jon though, especially now, but it was still an enjoyable performance.
I don't know if everyone is thinking this is the end of the road, or if it's just the vlogger/content creator world we live in, but people keep recording full shows for the 'tube:
Thinkin' on a prayer
There's still one more London show to go so I'll share more thoughts then.
Maybe more tour dates to come in the new year, maybe not. But night 3 in Wembley is, at the very least, the final show of this leg, so let's go out with a metaphorical bang.
Bon Jovi headed back to London for the first of three shows at Wembley Stadium to finish this leg of the Forever tour. And possibly the whole tour since no other shows have been announced?
London, England - Wembley Stadium #1 - 4 September 2026
With a Little Help from My Friends - The Beatles cover
Beautiful Drug
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Legendary
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Bed of Roses
In These Arms
These Days
This House Is Not For Sale
It's My Life
Livin' on a Prayer
Raise Your Hands
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Hey God
Keep the Faith
Encore:
I'll Be There for You
Wanted Dead or Alive
Bad Medicine - featuring Everett Bradley
Always
If you're thinking "that's the exact same set list as Edinburgh and Dublin" you'd be right, haha. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Unless you're going to drastically play a different set every night a la Bruce Springsteen, I'd much rather they tighten up the "standard" core set list, even if that means playing basically the same thing, with maybe one or two changes if you're playing multiple nights in the same city.
I'm also happy that no one who's attended this leg so far has missed out on "Hey God" and "These Days" yet!
Videos from London #1
Not all heroes wear capes, some of them just record the whole show and put it on YouTube:
Thinkin' on a prayer
I'd be surprised if they didn't change a song or two for the next show, but hopefully it's not dropping a great song for something blah.
As for what happens after the Wembley run... It's hard to imagine they wouldn't be billing these shows as your last
chance to see Bon Jovi if this really is it. So in that regard, I'd expect something else to be announced, but I also don't think
large-scale world tours are realistic anymore... so we'll
see.
The old Wembley Stadium held plenty of great Bon Jovi memories, including the three shows in 1995 that culminated in the Live from London VHS/DVD. Bon Jovi was also the last band to play there in 2000 before it was closed for demolition, and were supposed to open the new Wembley in 2006 but had to change venues due to construction delays. They finally returned to the famous site on their This House Is Not For Sale Tour, where the new Wembley Stadium now stands. Here's what was played:
London, England, UK - Wembley Stadium - June 21, 2019 set list
This House is Not For Sale
Raise Your Hands
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Lost Highway
Runaway
We Weren't Born to Follow
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Amen
Bed of Roses
Blood on Blood
It's My Life
We Don't Run
Wanted Dead or Alive
Lay Your Hands on Me
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Bad Medicine
Encore:
Always
Livin' on a Prayer
Videos from London
Here's the full show:
"Always":
"Bed of Roses":
Feel free to share your thoughts, links, videos, etc. 🙂
Were you at the show?
Extras
Continuing on from the Beatles theme in Liverpool, here's a picture Phil X posted of himself standing outside the famous Abbey Road Studios:
Richie Sambora kicked off his latest solo tour last week, performing shows in England, the Netherlands, and Germany. His sets have included a couple of unexpected Bon Jovi songs -- i.e. The Distance and Stick to Your Guns, as well as an impromptu rendition of Rosie in Stuttgart.
Were you at any of these shows?
London, England - O2 Academy Islington - June 13, 2014
A Song for You - Leon Russell cover
Every Road Leads Home to You
Nowadays
Lay Your Hands on Me
Stranger in this Town
Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix cover
Taking a Chance on the Wind
Livin' on a Prayer
Burn that Candle Down
Seven Years Gone
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Storybook Love - Willy DeVille/Mark Knopfler cover
I'll Be There For You
encore:
Stick to Your Guns - intro
Wanted Dead or Alive
These Days
Download Festival - Leicestershire, UK - Donington Park - June 15, 2014
Burn That Candle Down
Lay Your Hands On Me
Every Road Leads Home To You
Stranger In This Town
Nowadays
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Tilburg, Netherlands - 013 - June 17, 2014
A Song For You - Leon Russell cover
Nowadays
Every Road Leads Home to You
Lay Your Hands on Me
Stranger in this Town
Burn that Candle Down
The Distance
Seven Years Gone
Taking a Chance on the Wind
You Don't Wanna Know - Orianthi song
Storybook Love - Willy DeVille/Mark Knopfler cover
I'll Be There For You
Stick to Your Guns - intro
Wanted Dead or Alive
encore:
The Answer - solo acoustic
Livin' on a Prayer
These Days
Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix cover
Stuttgart, Germany - Beethovensaal - June 19, 2014
A Song for You - Leon Russell cover
Every Road Leads Home to You
Nowadays
Lay Your Hands on Me
Stranger in This Town
Burn the Candle Down
Seven Years Gone
The Distance
Rosie
Taking a Chance on the Wind
Weathering the Storm
You Don't Wanna Know - Orianthi song
Storybook Love Willy DeVille/Mark Knopfler cover
I'll Be There for You
encore:
Lean On Me - ft. Katja Juraska, Toby Breitenbach, Daniel Berger, Michael Eb, Christoph Brubeck (winner & 4 finalists for Opening Act contest)
Bon Jovi wrapped up the European leg of their tour at the British Summer Time Hyde Park Festival. It was a pretty solid festival set with a good encore, but apparently Phil X copped the infamous stinkeye from Jon at the start of Born to Be My Baby. Were you at the show?
Richie Sambora's London stopover was perhaps slightly disappointing on paper after reports the show was being filmed and some hype heading in that there might be a special guest like Jimmy Page... but I also know from experience the harshest critics are usually diehard fans who weren't actually at the gig. ;)
There's also a fan recording of the full audio stream here. Various other fan recordings are floating around for download.
And finally, here are some fan videos. :)
Hey God
Considering this is the opening track of my favourite album, I recognised the intro of the song when I heard it coming through my headphones during the live stream, but I don't think I really believed what I was hearing until Jon started singing.
Some people bag it for being too slow or over-emoted but I don't care; I love Bon Jovi's version of Hallelujah. I never really appreciated the song until Bon Jovi started doing this in 2007... now I love the original as well as many of the cover versions. Though I have to admit, Jon looks rather pained here.
Dry County
If you follow the blog, you'll probably already know I'm a sucker for this song.
Wow! Bon Jovi played for about three hours at Hard Rock Calling. The live audio stream on Absolute Radio sounded fantastic, and they pulled out some surprises that I certainly was not expecting at a festival. So much so that I'm more than happy to forgive Jon (who was reportedly limping in his leg brace) for finishing the show on that song I despise. :P
London, England, UK - Hyde Park - June 25, 2011
Raise Your Hands
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
It's My Life
In These Arms
Blaze of Glory
Lay Your Hands on Me
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
When We Were Beautiful
I'll Be There For You
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Hey God
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
encore #1:
Dry County
Wanted Dead or Alive
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Livin' on a Prayer
encore #2:
Always
These Days
Blood on Blood
encore #3:
I Love This Town
Check out Hath's Circle Tour Blog for all the HRC videos and media links.
As we move into the final themed week on BonJovi.com, a couple of treats have been released, both live from London's O2 arena. I'm now almost certain the whole "70 songs at the O2" thing was planned specifically to provide content for the current tour hiatus.
Anyway, watch the video of "Garageland" on the official videos page. I love this track; it should have been on Crush (I would probably have dropped "She's a Mystery" or "Save the World").
As part of the themed weeks on BonJovi.com, a video of "Lost Highway" from London's O2 Arena and audio of "Story of My Life" from the vaults (not sure which show) have been released on the official videos and audio pages.
Watch the video of "Lost Highway" here. I'm not a Lost Highway hater by any means, but I have to say the "rock" version of this song is pretty cool.
Like the other videos and MP3s released so far, they are live cuts from the O2 arena in London.
(Sorry, about the "WHYYYY?!" earlier. I know a lot of people love "Captain Crash". Hell, so do I when it comes on. But of all the songs you could release it was one we didn't need.)
And... the new Greatest Hits album now has a release date: November 9, 2010. (Our favourite leaker, Richie Sambora called it last month but apparently it's now been confirmed on the Backstage JBJ website.)
I think I'm a little behind due to my home internet being cut off since Friday thanks to an error from the phone company. But as part of the themed weeks on BonJovi.com, "Dry County" from the O2 has been posted on the official videos page (direct link here). Live audio of "Diamond Ring" is scheduled to go up today.
EDIT: "Diamond Ring" is now up. Listen to it here, or access the mp3 directly at this link.
Obie O'Brien has released a live audio track of "Wild is the Wind" from the O2 arena as part of the Bon Jovi themed weeks on BonJovi.com. (This week is dedicated to Slippery When Wet and New Jersey).
When I got the e-mail about this box set earlier today, two things immediately came to mind:
I miss Japan (I spent most of last December and a bit of January in Tokyo). Japan has the coolest stuff. (Tower Records in Shibuya, folks... as close to heaven on earth as you'll get if you love music.)
Freaking hell Bon Jovi, how much more money do you freaking need?!
The box set itself is actually pretty sweet:
This fantastic Global Exclusive Bon Jovi Special Editions Collector’s Box Set features Japanese Paper Sleeve versions of all eleven 2010 Special Editions plus an exclusive documentary DVD, Access All Areas: A Rock & Roll Odyssey, all packaged in a superb road case style box.
Each Special Edition includes a re-mastered version of the original album plus bonus live tracks. Each Special Edition also comes with a laminate “Backstage Tour Pass” reproduction and every CD unlocks the "virtual tour experience" consisting of exclusive bonus content, extra tracks, and access to exclusive Bon Jovi tour memorabilia.
Not at US $299 though. I haven't got any of the special editions as yet and would really love Access All Areas but honestly, I would find $300 in Australian dollars on the excessive side, let alone the financial hemmorrhaging that is this price in American currency.
A couple of videos from the final night of Bon Jovi's o2 residency (June 26, 2010). Both these songs were played for the first time this tour, with "Letting You Go" played for the first time in significantly longer.
(IT'S HARD) LETTING YOU GO - Still picking my jaw up off the floor. Jon looks awfully pleased with himself at the end of this performance!
BLAZE OF GLORY - Jon seems to have made many people very happy by singing the original lyric "I'm the devil's son" instead of "I'm my father's son". ;)
THESE DAYS - The song technically made its tour debut on June 20 but was performed acoustic. Here it is in its original electric glory.