The New Jersey-born performer, now 54, shows no sign of slowing down as he prepares to meet Prince Harry today at London’s Abbey Road studio to discuss a special Invictus Games single. Despite being known for channeling the stories of real people he knew into his songs, his tattoos have remained less spoken about. In unearthed comments we reveal his words and the designs he chose to immortalise on his body.
Jon Bon Jovi has had an impressive career – he went from being a self-professed “loner” to one of the most successful musicians of all time.
He has an incredible 12 studio and two solo albums to his name, which have sold more than 130 million copies.
Two years ago his band, of the same name, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Outside music, Jon Bon Jovi had also tried his hand at acting – where he featured in the several small films and the TV series ‘Sex and the City’.
Now he is due to re-record his 2019 hit ‘Unbroken’ for the Invictus Games at London’s Abbey Road Studios today.
In a thoughtful interview – published by website InkedCeleb in 2016 – the star revealed he had regrets about some of his tattoos.
He compared them to “old clothes” when he said: “I wish you could change them with the styles. But they were a part of my life at that juncture.”
Over the years, Jon Bon Jovi inked his skin three times with less than usual designs.
He has the Superman logo on his left arm and a cow’s head on the right, and then a small dragon on his left ankle.
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This one depicted a “steer’s head”, which looks like the skull of a bison.
He explained: “I took guitarist Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo to the tattoo parlour and had to show him that getting one didn’t hurt.
“I guess that tattoo symbolises the feelings I had on the ‘New Jersey’ album of being a cowboy.
“We’d ride into town, take the money and the women, drink their booze, and be gone before morning. Ah, the innocence of youth.”
The last one appeared to hold special significance to the musician.
In comments, he appeared to connect the tattoo with his personal perspective of his career at that point in his life – back in 1991.
Jon Bon Jovi said: “I was ‘draggin’ – and that was the end of my tattoo era.”
