Bon Jovi is one of the most popular rock bands of all time. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide and performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for over 34 million fans. They’re on every classic rock playlist and a staple of karaoke bars. They’re poster boys for hair-rock heartthrobs and icons of power ballads.
If you’re a fan, Hulu’s new series Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story will be a joyous trip down memory lane. But for non-fans, it could be a bit of a slog. Like every pop biography, it’s meant to serve two audiences: those who want to know everything about the artist they love and those with only a passing interest in the subject. In terms of the former, Bon Jovi fans have a lot to fill in; as of this writing, all four episodes are over an hour long.
The series begins in 1983 when Jon Bongiovi meets guitarist Richie Sambora and forms the band with the slightly odd name of Bon Jovi (their initials arranged as a homage to Van Halen). The first episode follows the group as they release a brace of reputation-building albums, including their eponymous debut and its 14m-selling follow-up, Slippery When Wet. With torn T-shirts and leather jackets, outrageous hairdos and a pop metal sound that’s Motley Crue with better tunes or Springsteen without the anxieties about the American Dream being a swiz, Bon Jovi tour relentlessly.
Jon, now a smooth CEO of the enterprise with a voice that’s in the grey area between “still got it” and “yer nan’s had her hair done”, struggles with the strain. Thousands of shows and that reckless key change in Livin’ on a Prayer have taken their toll, and even the vitamins, vocal exercises and humidifiers aren’t working.
Other members of the band are interviewed as well, including drummer Tico Torres and bassist Hugh McDonald, but it’s Jon who takes center stage. His perspective on his career, which is reflected in his own songwriting, is the most interesting; his insights into what it took to create hits like Bad Medicine and You Give Love A Bad Name are especially incisive.