Bon Jovi Sets Fire To Mercury Records, Readies New Album

His latest, "Burning Bridges," fulfilled his contractual obligation with his record label, Mercury Records, who he's been with for his entire career.

After 32 years, Jon Bon Jovi and Mercury Records are parting ways. He recently revealed how his latest album, Burning Bridges, was all part of his plan to fulfill his final commitment and move on.

“[It fulfills] a commitment to Mercury Records,” he told Billboard. “After 32 years, we have parted ways. That is the big news. If you listen to ‘Burning Bridges,’ the song, it is clearly spelled out.”

The lyrics to the album’s title track hint at the long relationship with the label, though it does not explicitly name Mercury Records.

    Ah, check the box, yeah, mark this day

    There’s nothing more to say.

    After 30 years of loyalty, they let you dig a grave.

    Now, maybe you could learn to sing or even strum along

    But I’ll give you half the publishing, You’re why I wrote this song

Bon Jovi doesn’t say exactly what it was that pulled the two in different directions, but he says the song says it all. “This hits it right in the head and tells you what happened,” he told Billboard. “Listen to the lyrics because it explains exactly what happened. And that’s that.”

Burning Bridges, also known as the “fan album,” does not include former band member Richie Sambora who left the group in 2014.

In July, Bon Jovi gave some insight into the album in an advance performance and private Q&A at B.B. Kings Blues Club in New York City. He described it as “our latest, not our next. It’s sort of an end of a cycle but not the beginning of a new one.”

Then he went on to talk about a new record to be dropped in April or May that will be “fantastic.”

According to Bon Jovi, the album will explain a lot of what made 2014 a tough year for him and other hurdles he’s had to leap.

“A lot happened,” Bon Jovi said. “Richie’s sudden departure, my trying to buy the [Buffalo] Bills and now this with the label.”