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Bon Jovi fans hoping to see the band's original lineup will be sorely disappointed this spring. Guitarist Richie Sambora is stepping away from the tour to deal with his "issues."
The band made the announcement in a statement on their official website. "Due to personal issues, Richie Sambora will not be performing on this upcoming leg," they said. "All shows will go on as scheduled."
Jon Bon Jovi talks drugs, daughter>>
Sambora was noticeably absent from the band's Calgary show last night, leaving frontman Jon Bon Jovi feeling vulnerable.
"I had two choices" pack up and go home or give you everything I got," he told the crowd. "Richie Sambora won't be performing for a while. If there's ever a night I need you, it's tonight, Calgary!"
To make up for the crowd's disappointment, the band pledged a $100,000 donation to a local shelter.
While no details have been released about what exactly Sambora's issues currently are, the guitarist has struggled with substance abuse in the past and was forced to miss a 2011 tour to attend rehab. He later admitted that Jon Bon Jovi didn't come visit him while he was away.
"But everybody was very supportive — my band, my family, my kid. It was like, 'Hey, go get better, man. Do what you gotta do,'" he told Classic Rock Magazine in September 2012.
His drinking is rumored to have caused the demise of his marriage to Heather Locklear and wrecked his relationship with Denise Richards.
Image courtesy WENN.com
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