Jon Bon Jovi says ‘fabulous’ Tube is much better than New York’s subway

US rock star Jon Bon Jovi has praised the “fabulous” London Tube and said that he never “lost faith” following his vocal cord surgery.

Speaking at a press conference at Wembley Stadium on Friday, the Bon Jovi frontman, 63, also said that rock is “alive and well again” and cited the likes of Oasis’s stadium reunion tour and its high demand as giving young bands the chance to “shine again”.

It comes after the release of the group’s latest album, Forever (Legendary Edition) and announcement of its accompanying 2026 summer tour.

When asked about how he arrived at the stadium he said: “I took the Tube, as it were, which was fabulous.

“It’s so much better than New York. It’s nice and safe and clean and fabulous, and it’s the only way around town.”

He also said it was a “thrill” to return to Wembley after the band were the last group to perform at the old 1923 stadium before its demolition.

The singer will return to perform at the stadium on September 4 as part of the Forever tour which kicks off in July 2026 with four nights at Madison Square Garden in New York before moving to Edinburgh’s Murrayfield on August 28 and Dublin’s Croke Park on August 30.

The tour comes after the lead singer underwent vocal cord surgery and spent the last few years recovering from the procedure after they began to atrophy.

Speaking about the surgery, he said: “I don’t think that I ever lost faith, but I had no idea that the recovery from this throat surgery was going to be three-and-a-half years. So it’s just been much longer than anticipated.

“To still be here standing some 40X years later, it’s quite a thrill, and it’s humbling, and I’m grateful, and that joy that we get to share with each other and then with that audience it’s unbelievable.

“My gratitude is deep for the band, the crew, everybody that just was there through the process and just wouldn’t let me down and wouldn’t let me quit. And so it’s a deep gratitude that I feel with the band, the crew, the fanbase, because they understand that this is a tour of gratitude and nothing more than that.”

The album, which came out on Friday contains a reimagined take on 2024’s Forever with a number of artists, including Robbie Williams, Avril Lavigne and Bruce Springsteen – who he described as a “big brother” – featuring on the record.

Speaking about the growing number of stadium acts, and why this resurgence is happening, he said: “I think post-Covid people wanted that kind of experiential thing. They wanted to get together again and feel that joy. So it is bigger than ever.

“There was a time 10-12 years ago that I used to hear people say rock is dead. I think rock is alive and well again.

“So the promise of what Oasis brought last year is going to give a lot of young rock bands an opportunity to shine again. So I think that it’s good that stadium acts are able to fill buildings and people are enjoying themselves there.”

The rock band is best known for their hit songs Livin’ On A Prayer, It’s My Life and You Give Love A Bad Name.