No Richie on current leg of the tour

I agree Carli.

There is no way Jon didn't see what was going to be released. The director had unlimited access but at the end, Jon still would have had final approval. There was that Q and A event on stage where the director and Jon answered questions about the Doco. They even said then that he would show Jon the final scenes. Something along the lines where the director said it was easier for him if he had Jon's wife in the room when he showed Jon want was filmed.

Ha ha ha!! Erik...you've cracked me up very early on a Saturday morning...and yes, I realize I shouldn't encourage you but this was damn funny!

The thing that many people just don't get (or just don't like) is that it IS just Jon. He has the record contract and he can hire anyone he chooses to play with him. Admittedly he has chosen to (mostly) stick with the original bunch but he does not have to.

Another perfect example is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Bruce has the recording contract and yes he has kept many of the same people with him too. But some people left the band early on, some of them died but they still play on as the E Street Band.

True, and Jon acts like this. But why is the Name still Bon Jovi and not Jon Bon Jovi & whatever. Earlier they at least acted for the public as a band but this doesn't happen anymore. Concerts not cancelled even though the band is not complete, "my" Album in interviews instead of "our" etc. etc.

That comparison is absolute bollocks. Let's look at the two biggest albums of each of them. The E Street Band isn't even mentioned on the cover of Born to Run. The E-Street band is not part of the artwork and whichever you look at it, it is a solo recording. Just that the session musicians had a name as a group. A bit like 'the Big Dogs' or 'Kings of Suburbia'. For ****'s sake, Bruce wrote ALL songs by himself whereas Slippery is almost entirely co-written by Sambora.

Born in the USA:

"Born in the U.S.A." – Springsteen
"Cover Me" – Springsteen
"Darlington County" – Springsteen
"Working on the Highway" – Springsteen
"Downbound Train" – Springsteen
"I'm on Fire" – Springsteen
"No Surrender" – Springsteen
"Bobby Jean" – Springsteen
"I'm Goin' Down" – Springsteen
"Glory Days" – Springsteen
"Dancing in the Dark" – Springsteen
"My Hometown" – Springsteen

Slippery When Wet:

"Let It Rock" - Bon Jovi, Sambora
"You Give Love a Bad Name"- Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child
"Livin' on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child
"Social Disease" - Bon Jovi, Sambora
"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi, Sambora
"Raise Your Hands" - Bon Jovi, Sambora
"Without Love" - Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child
"I'd Die for You" - Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child
"Never Say Goodbye" - Bon Jovi, Sambora
"Wild in the Streets" - Bon Jovi

Whichever way you look at it - Bon Jovi were a proper band. No matter who had the 'contract' or what not. Springsteen was a solo artist with a band. The way things stand now, I am not sure anymore...

OK I see your point. I wasn't thinking of writing credits but simply as who had the contract. I do know that Bruce fans have a similar investment in the band members as the Bon Jovi fans do. Especially with Steve as Bruce's "sidekick and right hand man". I have speculated as to why we all seem to have a personal investment in that particular relationship and I concluded that most people must want a similar one.

I think it's time for Jon to reach out to Richie and I thought he could do it by song (BTW, kudos to my fellow parodiers - this is hard to do!)

Who Says You Can't Come Home
(dedicated to Richie, my partner in music)

I've spent thirty years lookin' at your face
Phil X, he can play but he just can't replace
You've run away from the only thing we've ever known

And like a blind dog without a bone
I'm adrift onstage, I can't get into the zone
I'm not a solo singer, I'm going to lose this pot of gold

I've tried this, tried that, now I've gone and hurt my back
Trying to please our fans, knittin' hacks
Spendin' too much time at my microphone
Oh, Richie, please come home.

Oh, Rich, can you please come home?
You're a Jovi guy, I call you one of my own
You're my right-hand man, I need your vocal tone
Oh, Richie, please come home.

Who says you can't go back?
Been all around the world and as a matter of fact
Your fans are pissed and they just want you to show
Who says you can't go home? There's no fight.
You're so right. You're so right. You're so right. You're so right.

I went as far as I could, I tried to give you space
But I'm flailing out here, I need to see your face
I need your smile when we're out on the road

Every step on stage feels like the danger zone
Your fans are upset and they are startin' to roam
This is my band, the only band I've ever known
And I say you must come home.

Oh, Rich, please come home.
You've proven your point, I need you in the show
You're my right-hand man, I need your vocal tone
Oh, Richie, please come home.

Who says you can't come back?
Been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left the fans want you to go
Oh, Richie, please come home.

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Promise you more solos each and every night
If I apologize now, oh, can I make it right?
Oh, Richie, please come home.

I've said stuff, done crap, now I'm sadly lookin' back
It's been a long, long road, I know why you left
Can't tell how the story goes

It doesn't matter where you are, doesn't matter where you go
If it's another rehab stint or back on the road
Can you please take me with you when you go?
Oh, can't you please come home?

Oh, Rich, please come home.
You're a Jovi guy, I call you one of my own
You're my right-hand man, I really need your vocal tone
Oh, can't you please come home?

Who says you can't come back?
Missin' from the tour and fans are startin' to yak
Sayin' I killed your dog and Bobby's got to go
Oh, can't you please come home?

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
You're so right, you're so right, you're so right, you're so right
If I apologize now to make it all right
Oh, can't you please come home?

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It's alright, oh Richie, please come home.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It's alright, oh Richie, please come home.

Why is it assumed that Jon owes Richie an apology? If what we're hearing from the official sources is true, then Richie is the one with the personal issues and Jon is being very gracious and letting him keep those issues personal while he takes the hit in the press and the fan boards. If there was a problem between Jon and Richie and Richie was the pour sainted injured party some of you make him out to be, then why haven't Tico and Dave bailed on the tour too? If it was about money, they probably make even less money than Richie does on tour. (Don't know that, just guessing.) If Richie was acting in mutiny, I don't think he would be doing it alone. Tico and Dave aren't poor or needy and if they didn't want to be there, they wouldn't be there. They both have outside interests and neither one of them NEED the band anymore. Jon is not the evil person some of you make him out to be. If he was, he'd have gone through a string of band members and wives in the last 30 years instead of having band, wife, and other employees stay with him. Common sense has been completely lost in the conspiracy theories.

i think bon jovi even now are a band most of the times while the e street band is mostly a backing band for bruce, no matter how legendary it is...
steven van zant may be bruces side kick and the second most recognisable guy in the e street band(sopranos) but his role in the band is clearly replacable imo...no disrespect to the guy...bruce has taken most of the solos and fills(sth that jon does more and more with every tour as well ), the other guitarist (sorry i dont remember the name) is 10 times more gifted, so i dont think steve adds sth to the sound of the band, its more the persona and the brotherhood...while richies guitar work imo is crucial to the sound, phil x may is gifted but it doesnt sound the same, it sounds like a coverband sometimes..