Bon Jovi

In the middle of a worldwide tour in 2011 Jon Bon Jovi thought he might need a fill in for Richie Sambora, who was once again facing personal issues. He asked a few friends in the business whether they knew a talented guitarist he could keep on a waiting list in case he was needed.
Producer and good friend John Shanks suggested he should ask Phil X, whom he had worked with before and was an eclectic guitarist who could also sing and play the talk box.

So Phil X was sent live DVDs for him to learn all the songs and was given one week to decide whether he would do it (still ‘just in case’) or not. Legend has it that after a week of rehearsing in front of a TV, on the night before he had to give the final response he had decided for a NO. But he woke up in the morning and as soon as he turned on his TV, Bon Jovi was playing on HOB so he took that as a sign and became available “just in case”.

One week prior to the second leg of their US tour, Bon Jovi announced that guitarist Richie Sambora was headed to rehab but gave no further information on how and if the tour would go on.
On April 30, 2011 the band played New Orleans’ Jazzfest for the first time ever with a different lead guitarist other than Richie Sambora, founding member and co-writer of most of their hits, leaving millions of fans around the world speechless and sceptic.

Phil played the last 13 US shows of the 2011 Circle tour triggering rave reviews and the growth of his already expanding fan base, but Richie Sambora returned for the European leg and final part of the tour with the world thinking that the Phil X adventure in Bon Jovi was over.

In February 2013 Bon Jovi embarked on yet another worldwide tour to support their latest album What About Now with the first leg in the US ending on March 17, 2013 exactly 30 years after the band was founded.
The first show of the second leg of Bon Jovi’s Because We Can tour was in Calgary on April 2, where Richie Sambora didn’t show up, having Jon Bon Jovi fly in Phil X with a 2 hour warning and reaching the venue as the band saluted the audience having played their second show ever without a lead guitarist (Sambora already didn’t show up for a one off show in Puerto Rico in 2007).
Phil X joined Bon Jovi again the day after in Edmonton for what was thought to be yet another dozen dates to fill in while Sambora was taking care of his personal issues. Turned out with Phil X playing all the remaining shows of the worldwide tour joining Bon Jovi in stadiums in South Africa, Europe, South America, Japan and Australia.

Since then Phil X has also played a few shows with Jon Bon Jovi’s Kings Of Suburbia and in 2015 he toured with the band again, playing sold out shows on a mini tour in Asia.

In March 2016 Phil X revealed having recorded guitars and background vocals on some tracks for Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not For Sale, out October 21st 2016 and which featured 4 songs with Phil on guitars. Once the album was out, Phil become an official band member included in their facebook page line up and being part of interviews.

Being Bon Jovi’s new official guitarist meant to tour the world with new record and be on the electric guitar once the same album was re-issued with 2 new tracks (When We Were Us and Walls), as well as appearing on the band’s official merchandise and official videos.

Here’s the video for the title track that featured Phil X on the video but he didn’t play on the song.

On March 9, 2019 Bon Jovi began recording a new studio album at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville posting videos with Jon Bon Jovi being very happy with Phil’s work.

…and the best is yet to come