Bon Jovi-Sambora Feud Threatens To Boil Over

A public war of words between Jon Bon Jovi and his founding guitarist Richie Sambora is threatening to overshadow the lead up to their Australian tour.

Sambora recently quit the band's current world tour for 'personal reasons' and in an interview with the Evening Standard Bon Jovi said, “It's getting more and more difficult every day to not just sit here and say something... Because all I can say is this — it's for personal reasons. He's been through it before, fortunately for us the same guy who filled in last time was available this time.”

In 2011 Sambora similarly missed dates to attend rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.

The comments have sparked the ire of Sambora, who hit back in English tabloid The Daily Mail.

“My opinion is Jon wants to see if he can pull off stadiums by himself. He is making it very difficult for me to come back… Enough with the trash talking!”

He added, “Jon needs to stop talking about me publicly. I am fine working very hard on my fashion company Nikki Rich and this is a private matter.”

Sambora has also commented on the matter on Twitter, where he attempted to remove himself from a public slinging match.

“Just to be clear, I've been running the fashion company for five years,” he said, “It does not take me away from the band, I'm an artist first. Always will be.”

An executive from the Dainty Group, who are promoting the Australian leg of the world tour in December, had not responded to theMusic.com.au today. Promotional photos for the dates have included Sambora.

Bon Jovi has indicated that he wouldn't be overly concerned if Sambora didn't make the dates.

“'Life goes on, so if someone chooses not to be here… unlike if this were, God forbid, The Edge, and he for some reason couldn't make a U2 show, [then] it would be very difficult to just step in. You have a choice – you either figure it out, go and grow, not only survive but thrive. Or, you say, 'I hate my brother and I'm gonna quit the band'.”

Ticket sales for the tour have been strong, despite pre-sale website issues. Although many have sold out, there are still a limited number of VIP and premium ticket packages available – including those to the second Melbourne show.