Bon Jovi are dropping the festive track, ‘Christmas Isn’t Christmas’, on Friday (17.11.23).
The ‘It’s My Life’ rockers have announced an “early Christmas present” for their fans.
They announced on social media this week: “We’ve got an early Christmas present for you! Our new original holiday song, ‘Christmas Isn’t Christmas,’ is out this Friday.”
The Yuletide record was recorded at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios.
The band members – Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Hugh McDonald, Tico Torres, Phil Xenidis, John Shanks, and Everett Bradley – celebrated with a drink at the nearby Santa’s Pub in Nashville.
It will mark their first new music since their album ‘2020’, released three years ago.
Meanwhile, Richie Sambora has claimed to be in talks for a Bon Jovi reunion.
The ‘Masked Singer’ star confirmed he discussed re-joining the ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ group for potential new music, but he’s not sure when they’ll be back for more live shows as frontman Jon Bon Jovi has been having “a little break” after being plagued by vocal issues.
Speaking on Absolute Radio, he spilled: “We’re talking about it. I don’t think there’s any reason not to at this point.”
He continued: “I made the decision when I started to work here in London over the last six months, I hooked up with Hipgnosis and Merck Mercuriadis, and we started to work together and I started to write with other artists and making my own records and now I’m saying to myself, ‘how am I going to ignite this? Let’s put on a potato head!’”
Richie, 64, said of his bandmate’s vocal issues: “Jon (Bon Jovi) was having a hard time with his voice a little bit there and he needed to take a little bit of a breather.”
He insisted he and Jovi, 61, are on good terms, adding: “You know what, there’s no malice. I mean, we did something … there’s not a lot of bands that did what we did. I mean, obviously, bands like The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and U2 (have).”
The former guitarist quit the band in 2013 after 30 years in order to spend more time with his daughter Ava, now 26, his child from his marriage to Heather Locklear.
And he feels he has an “obligation” to give the fans what they want.
He said: “I don’t know when Jon’s going to get his voice together and (when the Bon Jovi reunion is) going to happen, but we have to get out there and do it for the fans really. I feel a second obligation.
“I’ve had such a privilege and an opportunity – and this is not bulls***, it’s really true – my life is pretty good, always has been and I get to do what I love to do for a living and it’s a damn good living. And I never really stopped really.”