‘I'D RATHER DIE THAN FADE AWAY'

AS HE CELEBRATES HIS 60TH BIRTHDAY WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF SUPERSTAR ROCKER JON BON JOVI

- EMMA MARSDEN

It’s hard to believe, given his youthful appearance and boundless energy, that singer Jon Bon Jovi is 60 this week. Across six decades, he’s climbed to the top of the soft-rock tree and is now worshipped as a rock god. His best-loved hit, Livin’ On A Prayer, has become synonymous with the music icon and his band, Bon Jovi, and is still played across the globe despite being over 35 years old.

One of three brothers, John Francis Bongiovi Jr was born in New Jersey on 2 March 1962 to a marine turned barber and a former Playboy bunny, and was raised as a Catholic. The surname Bongiovi is of Sicilian origin. His father was of Italian and Slovak descent, and there’s German and Russian ancestry on his mother’s side.

His parents were always supportive of their son’s musical ambitions. He said, “What I got from my parents was the ability to make the dream reality… They always instilled that confidence in their kids which, in retrospect, I realise was so incredibly valuable. Because even if you truly weren’t any good at your craft, if you believed you were, you could work on it.”