When Bon Jovi Nearly Stole Guns N’ Roses’ Name

Jon Bon Jovi once admitted that he’d considered stealing Guns N’ Roses name while he was on the hunt for an album title in 1986.

While putting the finishing touches on their third record in Vancouver, Bon Jovi had just posed for publicity shots that focused on a cowboy look. When the singer discovered the name of Axl Rose’s band, he thought it was a perfect match.

Eventually he thought better of it, and the album was released as Slippery When Wet.

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In an archive interview, recently circulated, Bon Jovi said: “There [were] a number of titles. Slippery When Wet was not the first title.

“Unknown fact – I was reading a paper up there in Vancouver, and I saw this name of a bar band. I thought, ‘This is a great album title.’ And I almost called Slippery When Wet ‘Guns N’ Roses’ because I saw this thing called Guns N’ Roses.”

He said of the promo pictures: “I had a beard – everybody in the band had beards and moustaches and wore these long dusters. It was a very cowboy-looking picture. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is so us!’ You know, love songs and cowboy songs. And the first title of that record was, in fact, Guns N’ Roses.”

Bon Jovi Endured More Issues with ‘Slippery When Wet’

Referring to the fact that the “bar band” were a year away from releasing what would become the biggest-selling debut album of all time, Bon Jovi reflected: “Fortunately for me I didn’t call it that.”

Even once the title Slippery When Wet had been settled upon, the band leader endured more struggles to get the presentation right. He recently recalled his horror at seeing the highly-sexualized cover artwork his record label had chosen.

“It’s career suicide if you put this album cover out,” he said. “And they said, ‘Well, we’ve printed up half a million of them; you’re f––d!’ And I said, ‘We’re in trouble!’”

But his quick thinking saved the day, and Slippery When Wet went on to spend eight weeks at the top of the chart, spun out three hit singles, and remains Bon Jovi’s best-selling album.