Bon Jovi perform ‘Hey God’ after 13 years. (Photo from Facebook) NOSTALGIA
By Heidi Nicodemus
FANS were upended as one song that remained one of the most elusive tracks in Bon Jovi’s live repertoire in the past 13 years as the iconic track made a surprise return to the stage for the first time since 2013.
So, with that performance, the 13-year drought officially ended when Jon Bon Jovi and the band pulled “the lost classic,” ‘Hey God’, out of the vault, delivering a powerful rendition that took concertgoers to the unexpected.
Before the surprise revival, ‘Hey God’ was a feature of the band’s 1995 long-play (LP) ‘These Days’. But over the years, the track gradually slipped out of regular rotation, becoming a mythic “lost classic” among Bon Jovi’s fanbase.
However, its sudden comeback has signaled a welcome setlist shake-up as the group continues to treat audiences to rare gems from their decades-deep catalog.
The band brought the track back to live performances for the first time and additionally, they also performed ‘These Days’, the LP’s lead track, for the first time in seven years.
Bon Jovi told the crowd at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland on ‘These Days’: “This one was a bigger hit in the U.K. than it was in the U.S. It makes me very proud to know that you guys have very good taste in music. I love this song. I’m really happy to play it to you.”
On the other hand, Bon Jovi only played ‘Hey God’ a handful of times and in 2011 alone, the song was only performed live six times. Reportes even indicated that the band performed the song 13 times in that decade, and just three times in Australia, all during their 1995 tour.
Still, Bon Jovi shared details of the song’s inception: “‘Hey God’ was a narrative, an overview. It was me sitting in a traffic jam in Manhattan while people were literally walking over a guy who was passed out in the street.”
He continued, “And I just thought, ‘My God, he could have been having a heart attack. He could have fallen down from diabetes, and people just walking over him. I don’t understand how things like this exist in 1995’.”
He also revealed the origins of the song came from former lead guitarist Richie Sambora.