Fife dates for tribute band Wrong Jovi: Wanted Dead or Alive

Songs such as ‘Always’, ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’, ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’, ‘It’s My Life’ and (who could forget) ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ have cemented the bands place in the pantheon of rock legends.

Delivering a fitting tribute to such an acclaimed artist is no mean feat, but Wrong Jovi manage to do exactly that.

And it was former Bon Jovi guitarist, Richie Sambora, that sent them on the path to become “the best Bon Jovi tribute band in the world”.

“I was in Los Angeles and I took part in a masterclass with Ritchie Samboras,” explained founding member Mark Harding, who provides Samboras fiery guitar lines and backing vocals.

“I had been doing studio and session work for the past few years, but I had thought about putting a band together for some time.

“It was Richie that inspired me to first pick up the guitar when I was just 13. I guess I have a lot to thank him for.

“We put the word out and finally got a group of guys together that we were all happy with and Wrong Jovi was born.”

The band of look-alikes and sound-alikes deliver a concert experience like no other; the passion, enthusiasm and musical dexterity of each member is evident from the opening chord.

Wrong Jovi have worked tirelessly to ensure that they are rivalled by no one and continue to delight audiences around the world.

But is it a daunting task, emulating one of the best rock bands in the world?

“It is a bit, I have to say,” admitted Mark. “But we have worked so hard to capture the sound of Bon Jovi that we now feel that we do the band justice.

“But it isn’t just us on the stage singing and playing the band’s songs, our own personalities and individuality shine through so I feel that it brings something a bit extra to our shows and helps us stand out a bit more from other tribute shows.

Bon Jovi has 13 studio albums under their belts to date, giving Wrong Jovi a plethora of hits to choose from for their set list.

“There are so many songs to choose from that it can be a difficult to decide which ones make the cut,” Mark continued.

“There are songs that obviously make the set list such as ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, ‘Keep The Faith’, ‘Bad Medicine’, ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’, ‘Bed of Roses’... And we always have to play ‘Always’!” he laughed.

“But we like to include songs that some of the more hard core Bon Jovi fans will know like ‘Dry County’ and ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’.

“We like to include songs for everyone and make sure that all the crowd leave happy.”

Since their formation, Wrong Jovi have taken the tribute circuit by storm and will bring their show to the Rothes Halls next month followed by a further two shows in the Kingdom throughout the year.

“We’ve played Fife a few times before, most recently in February (the band played the Lochgelly Centre) so we know what we are getting in to!” Mark said.

“We always have such a great night when we play in Scotland.

“The fans are always up for a good time and the second that we start playing until we stop, they are always on their feet dancing and singing along.

“For us as a band it is great to see as we know that we are doing soemthing right and that the crowd is having such a great night. We all feed off that.”

Mark added: “So hopefully the Glenrothes crowd bring their best singing voices and dance moves next month.

“We are really looking forward to taking to the Rothes Halls stage.”

• Wrong Jovi play Glenrothes Rothes Halls on Saturday, May 12; Kirkcaldy Adam Smith Theatre on Saturday, August 11; and Dunfermline Carnegie Hall on Saturday, November 10.

• For tickets and more information, visit the Wrong Jovi website at www.wrongjovi.com/tour.