Michael Jackson: Jon Bon Jovi recalls his bizarre first meeting with the King of Pop

16 April 2024, 15:52 | Updated: 17 April 2024, 13:15

The singer has revealed he extraordinary meeting took place in a Tokyo hotel room.

Jon Bon Jovi, 62, has opened up about the first time he met Michael Jackson while on tour in Tokyo in 1987.

Appearing on US chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live! show to promote his upcoming documentary, Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story!, Bon Jovi was prompted to recall the extraordinary meeting.

• Barry Gibb opens up about why he asked Michael Jackson to leave his home in 2002
• Jon Bon Jovi breaks silence on why there's 'no contact' with Richie Sambora 11 years after he left band
• Jon Bon Jovi casts doubt on his band’s future after vocal cord surgery: "If I can't be great, I'm out"

Bon Jovi were on the last leg of their Slippery When Wet Tour when they crossed paths with Michael Jackson, who was staying at the same Tokyo hotel.

Michael, who was in Japan as part of his Bad Tour, invited Jon Bon Jovi and his bandmate Richie Sambora to his hotel room, for what would be a night to remember.

"Everybody wanted to meet Michael Jackson," Bon Jovi said as he sat on Jimmy Kimmel's sofa on Friday night (April 12).

• When Jon Bon Jovi went undercover to surprise fans at a karaoke bar, and they lost their minds
• Rare footage of Michael Jackson practising iconic 'Billie Jean' routine in 1983 is incredible
• Michael Jackson’s Super Bowl performance: A cultural phenomenon remembered

"So, Richie and I had the opportunity to go up to his room, and we walked into his hotel room — which was all done up in mirrors so he could dance — and they actually took a wall out between these rooms," he said. "They absolutely did [remove the wall] because he was there for quite a while."

He continued: "His manager takes us in, fixes his hair, puts his cigar out before he enters the room, it was all very surreal.

"And Michael comes in the bullet belts across his shirt, and my eyes sort of do that [indicates cartoon eyes] because it's Michael Jackson and you're in his hotel room."

Jon went on to say: "We were telling him a story about how we had just come to Australia, and it's the height of the Slippery When Wet Tour, and how we had bought wigs and moustaches and beards so we could go out into the community and be with the crowd," he said.

"And [Michael] just played along, as though he's never done any such thing," adding: "To found out, of course, that he had done that all the time."

• When Michael Jackson beatboxed and sang 'Who Is it' acapella for an awestruck Oprah Winfrey
• Jon Bon Jovi and wife Dorothea's 40-year romance, and their secret to long-lasting love
• Richie Sambora facts: Bon Jovi guitarist's age, wife, children and career explained

The singer goes on to recall: "So now we think we're friends and we say, 'Come on down to our floor and hang out. We've got the whole band here, our girlfriends and all are here,'" he said.

"Unfortunately he didn't come, but he sends Bubbles the chimp as his representative," Bon Jovi shared, while the audience laughed.

• Watch Jon Bon Jovi tell the story of when he first met Michael Jackson, from 10:30:

Jon Bon Jovi on His FIRST EVER Recording, Long Drives with Springsteen & Tokyo with Michael Jackson

"That was big. Bubbles comes down and wreaks havoc. Bubbles partied like a rock star."

"Wait! How did Bubbles arrive, and Bubbles was in your room loose?" Jimmy asks.

• What happened to Michael Jackson's pet chimp Bubbles?
• Jon Bon Jovi's inauguration performance of Beatles' 'Here Comes The Sun' at actual sunrise gives us chills
• Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson gives rare interview about life inside Neverland

"Oh yeah!" Bon Jovi said. "Jumping on the bed, putting on a show, oh yeah.

"And I don't remember who brought him down, or if he just came down on his own with a cigar," Bon Jovi laughs, adding: "Bubbles showed up, man. He hung hard."

The rockstar joked that it "seemed like a lifetime," in response to Jimmy Kimmel's query about how long Bubbles had been in their hotel room.

Prince Harry sings with Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi went on to reveal that Bubbles was in their room for so long: "That hotel management came along and threatened to throw us out."

The story comes just weeks after Jon Bon Jovi gave an interview explaining why he's had no contact with Richie Sambora for over 11 years.

Despite their division, Jon did say he still had 'love' for his former bandmate, saying their estrangement "doesn’t mean that there’s not love forever".