Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet: key facts
This article traces how Mark Weiss photographed the making of Bon Jovi‘s Slippery When Wet album cover and the band’s rise during its world tour, and describes where fans can see the rare photographs.
- Cover concepts: Mark Weiss photographed five or six proposed album-cover shoots over several months.
- Cover inspiration: A Vancouver-area road sign helped inspire the Slippery When Wet title and beach photo shoot.
- Tour photographs: Weiss documented Bon Jovi as the band moved from opening slots to headlining shows.
- Photo exhibit: The Asbury Park exhibit at Art Spot Gallery features rare album-cover and tour photographs.
Bon Jovi released Slippery When Wet in the summer of 1986. Although the band was already gaining attention, the album cemented its worldwide success.
Mark Weiss photographed the band throughout that era. Forty years later, he is marking the milestone with a special Rock Scene Reloaded magazine featuring more than 150 images across over 100 glossy pages, chronicling the journey.
Fans can see photographs from the period at a special Asbury Park exhibit at Art Spot Gallery, open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on opening night and for at least a month. The exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of Slippery When Wet with rare images from the album-cover shoots and the subsequent world tour, including onstage and behind-the-scenes views.
Fans can also enter the Rock Your Look contest at the Wonder Bar for a chance to win a photo session with Weiss. Contest registrants receive a Slippery When Wet poster, and additional events at the venue celebrate the exhibit opening.
Before the event, Weiss recalled the demanding process behind the Slippery When Wet album cover, which took multiple attempts. He also discussed watching Bon Jovi become a global success on tour and the experiences along the way.
How did the Wanted Dead or Alive cover concept begin?
The familiar Slippery When Wet album cover followed several different concepts. Weiss recalled doing five or six album-cover shoots over a period of a couple of months.
Mark Weiss first developed a Western-inspired concept to match the working album title, Wanted Dead or Alive. He traveled to Vancouver, where the band was working on the album.
The first Bon Jovi cover concept was a wanted poster featuring cowboy hats and band members who had grown beards for a couple of weeks. Weiss assembled and distressed the poster, but the band later decided it did not want beards on the cover.
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How did the Slippery When Wet photo shoot take shape?
The band settled on a new concept for the forthcoming record, which would include future hit singles such as Livin’ On a Prayer. A Vancouver-area road sign and a visit to the Number Five helped spark the idea for the album title.
The Slippery When Wet title came from road signs near the Number Five, a Vancouver-area strip club. Manager Doc McGhee and the band then asked Weiss to plan a beach shoot near Jon Bon Jovi‘s apartment in Bradley Beach.
Where can you watch Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On a Prayer video?
The band members’ significant others came to the photo shoot, and the group considered whether one of them might appear on the cover. Weiss said they did not have the look he wanted for the image.
Weiss sent his friend Danny Sanchez and Tico Torres to look for a possible model elsewhere on the beach. They returned with Angela Chidnese, a young model who was in the area and later became Miss Raceway Park 1991 in Englishtown.
Weiss took initial pictures on the beach in Slippery When Wet T-shirts, then brought Chidnese to his studio for additional photographs. He used plexiglass and other effects to evoke the look of the Vancouver club.
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Weiss recalled dyeing [the t-shirt] yellow, cutting it to shape, and spraying Chidnese with water for the studio pictures. The band and record company approved the photographs, and hundreds of thousands of copies were printed and shipped, including to Japan.
The artwork changed again after Jon Bon Jovi saw the finished design, which the record company had given a pink border. Weiss said the singer strongly objected to the result.
The dispute unfolded during the PMRC controversy. Weiss had attended congressional hearings on Capitol Hill with Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, after photographing the band’s Stay Hungry album cover.
The PMRC controversy also raised concerns that the proposed Slippery When Wet artwork could attract scrutiny. Weiss said the record company changed the design to keep Jon Bon Jovi happy and avoid concerns about the cover’s availability in stores.
Weiss remembered the early tour as a period when the band was enjoying its growing success. He said the musicians were taking everything in before the later fatigue of the tour set in.
Weiss described 1986 and 1987 as a time when Bon Jovi moved from opening for 38 Special to headlining. Director Wayne Isham filmed the band in front of large arena crowds before the group had become an established arena act.
The music video for You Give Love a Bad Name presented the band as an arena-scale act. Weiss said that approach became a format for many of the group’s videos.
Where can you watch Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name video?
Wanted Dead or Alive was the band’s third single, released after Bon Jovi had already become successful. Weiss said the video showed the band’s exhaustion, capturing another side of life on the road.
Weiss called Bon Jovi survivors as he reflected on the band’s later years. In the 1990s, he photographed Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and other acts, while navigating work beyond his earlier associations with Bon Jovi, Cinderella, and Poison.
Weiss also photographed artists outside his usual rock field, including Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys, and the Black Eyed Peas. He continued working with rock acts, including Kiss during the group’s 1996 reunion, when its members put their makeup back on.
Weiss remembers Slippery When Wet as a turning point in Bon Jovi‘s changing fortunes. The band had seen signs of its potential with 1985’s 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit, but its experiences in Japan showed that greater success in the United States was still ahead.
Weiss said Bon Jovi had already experienced a level of intense popularity in Japan that it had not yet reached in the United States. The band worked to build that success at home, and eventually did.
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Fans can visit Mark Weiss’s 40th-anniversary Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet exhibit at the Art Spot Gallery in Asbury Park, opening on Nov. 6. Details about the Rock Scene Reloaded issue featuring Weiss’s photographs from the Slippery When Wet era are available on his Rock Scene website.
Which Bon Jovi albums are ranked from worst to best?
The gallery ranks every Bon Jovi studio album.
Gallery credit: Anthony Kuzminski
What should fans know about the Slippery When Wet photographs?
Mark Weiss‘s Slippery When Wet photographs document both the album-cover process and Bon Jovi‘s world tour. The exhibit and magazine present images from the band’s work on the cover and its rise on the road.
The Slippery When Wet photographs record the making of the album artwork and the band’s touring years.
- How many cover shoots did Mark Weiss do? Weiss recalled photographing five or six proposed album-cover concepts over a couple of months.
- Where is the Bon Jovi photo exhibit? The exhibit is at Art Spot Gallery in Asbury Park.
- What inspired the Slippery When Wet title? Road signs near the Number Five in the Vancouver area inspired the title.
- What does Rock Scene Reloaded feature? The magazine features more than 150 photographs across over 100 glossy pages.
