Bon Jovi rounded off their 2026 Forever tour with three sold-out shows at London's Wembley Stadium earlier this month. For fans in the North East, the news may have revived memories of the band's major concert at Gateshead International Stadium in June 1995.
A Tyneside summer day
On a summery Tyneside day, Bon Jovi, supported by Van Halen and Ugly Kid Joe, performed in front of a crowd of 38,000. The band was one of many A-list acts to play at the stadium during the 1980s and '90s, a venue known for high-profile athletics meetings. The Police, U2, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Simply Red, Guns N' Roses, Rod Stewart and Simple Minds also drew huge crowds there.
Coming out of New Jersey in the mid-1980s, the five-piece outfit, led by singer Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora, broke internationally with the album Slippery When Wet, powered by hits including Livin' On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name and Wanted Dead Or Alive.
The 1995 Gateshead gig
Tyneside audiences first saw the band at Newcastle's now-vanished Mayfair Ballroom in 1985, and at the City Hall the following year. By the time they arrived at Gateshead a decade later in support of their album These Days, Bon Jovi were one of the world's biggest rock attractions, with four UK number one albums already to their name.
The sold-out show took place on Tuesday, June 27, 1995, with the sun blazing in the Tyneside sky. Many in the audience, having paid £22.50 each for their tickets, arrived early, wearing shorts, shades and T-shirts when the gates opened at 2pm. Bon Jovi hit the stage at 8.15pm and played for two and a half hours.
Showbusiness Editor Gordon Barr, reviewing for the Chronicle, wrote “the show can be divided into three - the good, the bad and the fabulous”. The 'good' was the opening salvo of Livin' On A Prayer and You Give Love A Bad Name, while the 'bad' was a short section where “each number seemed to blend into one heavy thrash tune with unintelligible lyrics and Jon singing flat”.
Favourites and fireworks
Finally came the 'fabulous' section. “From Lay Your Hands On Me to the end there wasn't a naff moment, with the entire stadium won over. We were getting the gig we wanted”, noted the reviewer. Among the favourites on the setlist were Keep The Faith, Blaze Of Glory, Bad Medicine, I'd Die For You, Wanted Dead Or Alive and This Ain't A Love Song.
Finishing with a bunch of covers including Lulu's Shout, Status Quo's Rockin' All Over The World, The Temptations' Papa Was A Rolling Stone, and the Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash, Bon Jovi brought the show to a climax. “Jon walked slowly off stage to the last number and the fireworks went up. The stadium cleared to the sounds of What A Wonderful World - an apt ending to a wonderful show.”
Not for the first or last time during a Gateshead Stadium outdoor gig, there were complaints about the noise, with police receiving calls from irate residents in Gosforth and even Dinnington, around nine miles away.
