Jon Bon Jovi couldn't even sing Happy Birthday during his vocal cord struggles.
The Bon Jovi frontman lost his voice after suffering damage to his vocal cords and he underwent surgery in 2022 which led to a long rehabilitation process to be able to perform again - and he's now confessed his problems were so bad he couldn't even hold a basic tune.
During an appearance on Australia's A Current Affair show, the 64-year-old singer insisted he never gave up hope during his lengthy recovery, saying: "I didn’t lose faith, but had [my doctor] told me it was going to be four years, I might’ve contemplated saying: 'It’s been great’ [and leaving his office].
"Because the process was so damn long and I would see the progress, but it was incremental. It was inches. I couldn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday'."
He added of the four-year recovery process: "I’ve gone through hell and I would not, could not, compromise the legacy.
"I could not, would not go out and hold the mic out to the crowd. Holding ourselves to a standard that we’ve had for some 40 x years now, it’s important to me to be the best we can be.
"I realized that it took four years. That four years was my doing. I don’t go out [on tour] after the two years. People were saying: 'It’s fine, let’s go.'
"Ask the promoter Paul Dainty how many times he’s had on a piece of paper a tour booked and I’ve said: 'No, can’t do it. Just don’t do it.'
"And after the four-year process I was like: 'Yeah, it’s ready'."
Bon Jovi have been back on the road with their Forever Tour and they played a residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City over the summer and at London's Wembley Stadium in September while they have also scheduled a number of dates in the UK and Ireland dates for 2027 as well as shows in their native New Jersey.
The frontman admitted he now finds it "joyous" to be able to sin again. He said: "I can actually sing without thinking about singing ...
"The beautiful thing that I aspired to for these years was, I have 18 albums. I want to be able to pick any song from any record and know that I can do them.
"And that’s what was happening by the end of Wembley [Stadium] … We’re playing all the hits but I can give them all the album tracks that people love."