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Bon Jovi 'brokenhearted,' hopes to return to Taiwan next year
2015/09/29 19:23:57
Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Jon Bon Jovi, the namesake lead singer of the American rock band Bon Jovi, apologized to his fans on Tuesday for the cancelation of two scheduled concerts in Taipei, saying the band members were heartbroken and hoped to return to Taiwan to perform next year.
"So we just want everybody to know how sorry we are. Because of the typhoon, the government called this a typhoon day. And we had to go on to Abu Dhabi," Jon Bon Jovi told local reporters at Taipei Songshan Airport, before departing Taiwan for Abu Dhabi on a private jet.
"But we're brokenhearted. You know we came with the best of intentions to perform for our fans. And I hope that we can come back next year," he said.
Some 200 fans who went to the airport to see off the band sang the popular Chinese song, "The Moon Represents My Heart" in farewell to Jon, pianist and keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres.
It was the song that Jon sang in Mandarin in a video that was posted on the Internet in August and dedicated to his Chinese fans.
Several Taiwanese fans teared up when the band members arrived at the airport to board their flight.
In a video posted on Bon Jovi's Facebook page Tuesday, Jon addressed Bon Jovi fans, expressing disappointment over the cancelation of the two Taiwan shows because of Typhoon Dujuan.
"We are as disappointed if not more so than you are," he said. "We thank you for your kindness, your love, your patience, waiting 20 years for us to come back. I really was looking forward to tonight's show. We'll be thinking of you. Hope to see you again."
An office worker, surnamed Weng, said she had been a fan of Bon Jovi since junior high school and hoped the band would return soon to perform in Taiwan. Going to the airport to see off the band members was the craziest thing she had ever done, Weng said.
Richie Lin, leader of the Bon Jovi Taiwan fan club, said it was a pity that the concerts on Monday and Tuesday had to be canceled.
The decision to cancel the Tuesday show was made too hastily, said Lin, who has been a Bon Jovi fan for 20 years.
He said the local concert promoters should have explained to the foreign management company why the Taipei City government had changed its decision and declared Tuesday a full typhoon day instead of a half day.
The Taipei city government announced Monday afternoon that schools and offices would be closed Tuesday morning, but later decided on a full typhoon day.
Bon Jovi had said that the Tuesday concert would be held as scheduled, but canceled the show after the full typhoon day announcement.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said Tuesday that offices should have opened Tuesday afternoon, according to standard operating procedure, but his government changed its decision because train and high speed railway services could not be resumed before noon, which meant it would have been difficult for people to get to work.
Live Nation Taiwan, the local promoter of the concerts, said Bon Jovi's management team took the government's decision very seriously and did not want to put the audience at risk.
Live Nation Taiwan has estimated losses of NT$30 million (US$ 906,536) as a result of the concert cancelations. The estimate includes the costs of concert equipment and facilities, transportation and accommodation for the musicians, and processing ticket refunds, it said.
(By Christie Chen and Sabine Cheng)
