Special International Award with Apple Music

Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora

There is no one on earth that believes in the power of a song more than Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.

For 30 years, their musical partnership sat at the heart of Bon Jovi; a group that took the name of its charismatic frontman but one where he and the swashbuckling guitarist were, according to Jon, equals in a brotherhood that took on the world.

Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi’s first couple of albums were minor hits, but their third – 1986’s Slippery When Wet – changed everything. Fuelled by monster hits such as Wanted Dead Or Alive, You Give Love A Bad Name and – of course – the gigantic US No.1 Livin’ On A Prayer, the album is 12 times platinum in America and widely credited with taking hard rock to a new audience.

The Bon Jovi/Sambora hitmaking axis – with co-writer Desmond Child – was the foundation of that stellar success and, unlike many of their peers, there was plenty more where that came from.

By the time Sambora left in 2013 to spend more time with his family, Bon Jovi had made nine more albums and been behind more hits than their fellow New Jerseyites, The Sopranos.

Songs such as 1988’s Bad Medicine, 1992’s Keep The Faith, 1993’s In These Arms and 2000’s It’s My Life proved the pair had a hotline to blue collar concerns and a knack for irresistible melodies. It’s a combination that’s cemented their status as one of the biggest bands in the world, and one beloved in the UK.

Even now, as the two find success apart, the fruits of their collaboration live on as many of the most popular rock anthems of all time.

And that’s why they’ll be united again in receiving this prestigious Ivor. Because in their songs, like the defiant protagonists of Livin’ On A Prayer, they’ve got each other – and that’s a lot to celebrate…