My phone rings. The news has been shared by the inner circle to the outer circle; now the outer circle can share it with me: Jon Bon Jovi is running ahead of schedule. Soon the phone rings again: he is further ahead of schedule.
Of course he is. If your image of a rock’n’roll star is of an overgrown teenager who must be woken in his hotel, Bon Jovi will shake it. The frontman best known for anthems such as “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name” has likened himself to a chief executive. He lives so cleanly, it’s as if he’s appeasing an activist investor.
When he hit fame in the 1980s, with his Spandex trousers and a perm, he was credited with bringing sex appeal to rock music. Perhaps his more enduring achievement was bringing organisation. In 1991, the band’s first manager sarcastically suggested that if Bon Jovi had such great ideas, he should do the job himself. The singer took up the offer and sacked the manager. He has guided the group to a four-decade career — writing records, filling arenas, staying relevant.