Sambora pens drug battle song

Estranged Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora says his own struggles with drugs led him to write a song about addiction.

The song, Lighthouse, was originally called Needles On The Shore, but Sambora decided he wanted it to be more optimistic.

He played the song for the first time in front of high school children in New Jersey as part of the Ocean County Drug Overdose Forum – an event to raise awareness of painkiller and heroin abuse among youngsters.

Sambora, who is now drug-free, says: “I got firsthand experience. I never did heroin, but obviously I did other stuff. We can’t be scared silent. Together we can make a difference because this epidemic has to stop.

“I wanted to do something optimistic, a beacon of light and hope. Everyone needs that light when they’re far off the shore.”

The song will be eventually be available on iTunes and proceeds from its sale will benefit planned a New Jersey drug treatment facility.

Sambora stepped back from Bon Jovi duties in April last year, pulling out of a world tour just hours before it was due to get started. He has repeatedly claimed he will return to the band, but no firm date has been confirmed.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.