Jon Bon Jovi recently spoke with SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live and shared some memories. What is the focal point? His early days with Bon Jovi, back when music videos were popular. He specifically discussed one video that he now considers a ‘terrible’ blunder. Music videos were popular in the early 1980s. They were the new, hot way to reach out to fans, and every band jumped on board. Bon Jovi was no different. They made a music video for their hit song ‘Runaway’ from their debut album ‘Bon Jovi.’ But, in retrospect, Jon believes they missed the mark. So, what was the problem with the ‘Runaway’ video? Jon chose to ignore the advise of the record label and the video director, but it’s evident he wasn’t pleased with the results.
He appeared to believe that they were attempting to be something they were not. The band didn’t discover out the secret sauce until their third record. Instead of making elaborate, over-the-top movies, they decided to keep things simple. The following are Jon Bon Jovi’s comments about the ‘Runaway’ music video: “When I think back on ‘Runaway,’…. when we made a video, ‘Wait a minute, I just learned to play the guitar and write a song.'” You want me to be a director? What the hell do I know, I went for it hook, line, and sinker, and the dumb record label with the stupid video director who says Fahrenheit 451 [when the album was 7800 Fahrenheit] or whatever, it’s like Jesus God. You want to make me look bad? ‘Tying me to a chair and forcing me to view videos from my first two albums.'” He went on to say: “Horrible. Horrible and the second album were the same, and by the third album, we were thinking, “Wait a minute. ‘Let’s just film ourselves performing,’ and bang.
“Everything was different.” After many years, Bon Jovi realized they had learned a key lesson from their early video-making days. He recognized that they didn’t have to be filmmakers or actors to be themselves. This realization altered their approach to music videos and helped them get back on track. However, as Jon pointed out, sometimes you have to fall flat on your face to find your way. They’ve certainly come a long way since their ‘Runaway’ days.