7800° Fahrenheit (nearly titled Tokyo Road), Bon Jovi's second release, marked a strong step forward in the band's evolution. Tracks like "In and Out of Love," "Only Lonely," and "The Hardest Part Is the Night" reinforced the band's growing reputation for delivering honest, unforgettable hard rock and emotional vocals. This collection revisits a period of personal growth and musical development for Bon Jovi through the writing, promoting, and seemingly endless touring of this cathartic album.

7800⁰ Fahrenheit

Chapters

Date

The Album

1984

THE TOUR

1985

THE LEGACY

1986

The Album —

Subject matter on this album had a lot to do with beating a struggle. That’s really where I was this year. Next year, who knows?

Jon Bon Jovi

7800° Studio Agreement

Contract between PolyGram Records and Warehouse Recording Studios in Philadelphia for the 7800° Fahrenheit sessions.

POLYGRAM RECORDS CONTRACT

Developing songs for album two

Jon's spiral notebook from August 1984 containing handwritten song and lyric ideas for Tokyo Road. The album title would eventually change to 7800° Fahrenheit.

"In And Out Of Love" Handwritten Lyric Print (Ltd. Signed / Framed)

$1,500.00

"In And Out Of Love" Handwritten Lyric Print (Ltd. Signed / Framed)

$1,500.00

"The Hardest Part Is the Night" Early Lyrics

7800° Liner Notes

Thanks to the heroes that don’t ask why.

JON BON JOVI, 7800° liner notes

Album Recording

Cassette tape recording of what would become the final song sequence of 7800° Fahrenheit.

7800° Fahrenheit Sequenced Cassette

7800° Fahrenheit Promotional LP

"The Best Kept Secret in Rock 'N' Roll"

1985 Band Portrait

single

"Only Lonely"

"Only Lonely" Polo Sweatshirt

"Only Lonely" Video Script

"Only Lonely" Set Photo

single

“The hardest part is the night”

Polygram Correspondence

Single Cover Art

single

“In And Out Of Love”

"In And Out Of Love" Music Video

Jon's Shoes from the "In And Out of Love" Music Video

A BAND WORTH WAITING FOR

Rock Beat Magazine, September 1986

PRESS

Japanese Advertisements

BILLBOARD RECOMMENDED

KERRANG! COVER

CIRCUS SPOTLIGHT

THE TOUR —

The band is very involved with the audience... It causes us to lose a lot of clothing...

Jon Bon Jovi

1985

TOUR EPHEMERA

7800° Fahrenheit Summer Tour '85

7800° Fahrenheit Tour Poster

7800° Fahrenheit Poster Mock-Up

7800° Tour Laminates

7800° Tour All Access Pass

Bon Jovi spent a good portion of the 7800° Tour in support of Ratt's The World Infestation Tour

A review of the show from The Kansas City Star noted that Bon Jovi's "solid musicianship and complex vocals...managed to get even the most die-hard Ratt fan on their feet by the end of the set."

Live Shows

Bon Jovi's first appearance at London's Dominion Theatre had the band scrambling when the power went out two times on the second song of the night.

Jon told Dick Clark on American Bandstand that he "ran off the stage and grabbed my acoustic guitar, ran back out, everybody shut up real quiet and I started playing Tom Petty songs."

Dominion Theatre Tape

"The Hardest Part Is The Night" (7800° Pre-Production - c. 1985)

"Only Lonely" (Live 1985)

We play real American rock & roll. We've never hidden behind a phony image... We really did it our way.

Jon Bon Jovi, Circus Magazine – June 30, 1985

1985

TOUR PROMO

7800° Fahrenheit Running Shorts

staff t-shirt

Fringed Duster

Japan Tour

We hope you will consider Japan as your second home...

Nippon Phonogram

Jon spoke to the Chicago Tribune in 1985 about the band's early success in Japan: "Japan for us is like Beatlemania...The Japanese kids are incredibly loyal fans - chasing you down the street, waiting in hotel lobbies for hours and hours."

Japan Tour 1985 Program

Bon Jovi in Tokyo

By the time Bon Jovi returned to Japan for the 7800° Fahrenheit Tour, the band had become so popular that security was necessary. "When we would walk down the street, we'd have to be incognito just to get by, 'cause there'd be 500 or 1000 kids waiting outside the hotel every day. We had a bodyguard, his name was Mr. Now, as in, I need you NOW." - Jon Bon Jovi"