A number of songs topping the chats, several would tours, almost a hundred million albums so far... The success story began two decades ago and Bon Jovi is still one of the biggest bands in rock music.

In the beginning of the 1980s, John Bongiovi got a job in the famous Power Station Studios, New York. Although he was hired to make coffee or clean the floor, John used it to meet famous musicians face-to-face, and of course, to record his own songs when everyone had gone home. He sent his demos to several labels, without any success, until he found that a local radio station, WAPP was about to release an album containing songs performed by young local talents. John managed to put one of his songs, "Runaway" on the album.

The song got a lot of airplay, making John Bongiovi's name sound familiar in the New Jersey music business. However, he was facing a huge problem: he didn't have a band. He quickly called his old friend, keyboard player David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres and bass player Alec John Such and ask them if they were interested in joining a rock band. Of course, they all said yes. During one of their early performances, they met guitarist Richie Sambora, who immediately joined them. The band signed a record deal with Mercury Records, (they suggested John to change his name to Jon Bon Jovi) and Bon Jovi was officially formed.

In February, 1984, the album "Bon Jovi" was released, containing Runaway, that got into the US Top 40 by that time. After releasing their second single, "She Don't Know Me", the band went on tour: they were the supporting act to Scorpions and Kiss. In Japan, where the album got platinum, they gave sold-out solo concerts.

Shortly after the tour, the band went to the studio to record their next album, "7800° Fahrenheit", which was released in April, 1985. 3 singles were released: "Only Lonely", "In And Out Of Love" and "Shot Through The Heart". MTV played the music videos of these songs on a regular basis. The following concerts gave the band a chance to fine-tune their live performance.

Filled with energy, the band started working on their third album. They recorded "Slippery When Whet" in Vancouver, Canada. The recording process took about six months, the album was released in June, 1996. The first single off the album, "You Give Love A Bad Name" soon became Number One on the Billboard Chart. The second hit, "Living On The Prayer" was on the top of the chart for 4 weeks in a row. Many people still consider "Wanted Dead Or Alive", the third release from the Slippery When Wet album, Bon Jovi's anthem. The fourth single was "Never Say Goodbye". With Slippery When Wet staying 94 weeks on the Billboard Chart (8 weeks on the number one spot), Bon Jovi not only became superstars, but made pop metal, the melodic rock music they played well known worldwide.

Bon Jovi's popularity was skyrocketing. Their songs were being played all the time by radios and music TVs, their concerts were always sold out. During the MTV Video Music Awards, Jon and Richie held an acoustic performance, playing Living On A Prayer and Wanted Dead Or Alive. Several insiders in the music business believe that this performance made MTV to launch their Unplugged series.

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In 1988, Bon Jovi went back to the studio in Vancouver to record their next album. In October, "New Jersey" and the first single, "Bad Medicine" was released. The song got immediately to the top of the charts. Several singles followed: "Born To Be My Baby", "Lay Your Hands On Me", "I'll Be There For You" and "Living In Sin". New Jersey was the first "western" album to be officially released in the Soviet Union.

Bon Jovi went on a world tour, with 150 concerts in different places of the world. Unfortunately, the long tour had a negative effect on the band: the exhausted band members returned home from the tour with no further plans with Bon Jovi. Uncertainty with the band's future was exaggerated by Jon and Richie releasing solo albums.

In 1991 Jon thought it was time to clean up the house: he fired the management and called the band members for another Vancouver studio session, which resulted in the album "Keep The Faith", released in 1992.

Although most pop metal bands of the 1980s disappeared, Bon Jovi proved that they were still integral part of the music industry. Both the title track of their new album and the second single, "Bed Of Roses" became chart toppers. They shot videos for the songs "I Believe", "In These Arms", "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and "Dry County". The album was followed by a world tour, visiting countries where they had never played before.

Bon Jovi released their first greatest hits album in 1994. "Crossroad", containing 13 classic and two new songs, was a massive success. "Always" became one of Bon Jovi's biggest hits: many people bought the greatest hits album because of Always. Listening to the old hits, many of those who didn't really know the band before purchased the previous albums, starting a small Bon Jovi fever all over the world. While the album sales were rising, Alec John Such decided to leave the band. Since that time, as an unofficial band member, Hugh McDonald plays bass on Bon Jovi albums and in concerts.

Shortly after Crossroads, Bon Jovi was back with a brand new studio album, "These Days" (1995). The choice of singles ("This Ain't A Love Song", "These Days", "Hey God", "Something For The Pain" and "Lie To Me") represent the different styles of songs on the album. They went on a world tour with These Days, with three sold out concerts in the famous Wembley Stadium in London.

After the tour, the band decided to take a break. Unlike the one after the New Jersey tour, this pause was planned. The band members used this time to build their solo careers: Jon, Richie and David released solo albums, while Tico became a recognised painter and sculptor.

The members of Bon Jovi met again in 1999 to record a song, "Real Life", for the film EDTV. We cannot call this a big comeback, as this release was almost unnoticed. Some of the band members questioned if people were still interested in them after such a long time.

All these doubts vanished with the release of "It's My Life" in 2000. The first single off their brand new album, "Crush" was a massive success. Bon Jovi was definitely back in business: the album sold 7.5 million copies worldwide. The two other singles from Crush: "Say It Isn't So" and "Thank You For Loving Me" had high chart positions as well.

Bon Jovi went on tour with Crush: the best moments of the shows were released on a DVD, and were used on their next album, "One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001", containing the most memorable live performances of the band. A slightly updated version of "One Wild Night" was also featured on the album.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks made the band appear on several charity events. "Undivided", a song on their 2002 album, "Bounce", pays a tribute to the victims of the attacks. 3 singles were released from the album: "Everyday", "Misunderstood" and "All About Loving You".

On the autumn of 2003, Bon Jovi re-recorded their greatest hits completely re-written, with new instruments. The result was "This Left Feels Right: The Greatest Hits With A Twist".