The hundred-hit hero

So, what would you ask rock god Jon Bon Jovi if you got him on the phone?

Jon Bon Jovi, one of the most admired rockers in the business, is on the phone. His band, Bon Jovi, has just put out another greatest-hits album - they have endless hits, of course - and heâ??s up for a chat.

What do you say to a Grammy-winning member the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a guy who People magazine twice named Sexiest Rock Star and yet has never been tainted by scandal of any kind?

Bon Jovi the band has released 11 studio albums since their self-titled debut in 1985, which spawned the runaway hit â??Runawayâ?.

Jon Bon Jovi, who can play many instruments as well as belting out anthems, turned into a prolific songwriter, and has two solo albums out as well.

The New Jersey-bred band puts on some of the most successful tours in rock, and that copious list of chart-toppers includes â??Blaze of Gloryâ?, â??Livinâ?? on a Prayerâ?, â??Wanted Dead or Aliveâ?, â??Bad Medicineâ?, â??Iâ??ll Be There for Youâ? and â??Itâ??s My Lifeâ?.

Not a bad turn of events for an outfit once dismissed as â??too prettyâ? and â??one-hit wondersâ?.

â??Greatest Hitsâ?, issued last week, spans the entire career and features two new songs, â??No Apologiesâ? and â??What Do You Got?â?, the latest single.

How have you kept it so together for 25 years?

I attribute it to the fact that we like each other, and to our commitment to the band ��" that we always try to make the best records we possibly can. We need to set the ego aside to reach the very best music we can.

Youâ??re not a big fan of collaborations, are you?

Oh, I donâ??t know. I canâ??t imagine what record that might be.

Iâ??m a music fan and I like a lot of people, but judging from the fact that weâ??ve been busy for the last decade alone, with five studio records and this greatest-hits package, I donâ??t have lot of time thinking about those things.

Do you still have all your original fans?

Judging from the two million-plus people that have come to see our Circle tour alone, I think that the magic - which I canâ??t even explain - is cross-generational.

You see fans that come to your shows a hundred times and have been there throughout your career, as well as people in the audience seeing you for the first time.

A lot of that has to do with the reputation of the band compounded with the fact that itâ??s music that crosses generations. What is now apparent to a child can actually find a common ground. Weâ??ve been blessed with that.

Youâ??re one of the very few rockers whoâ??ve never been involved in cliche scandals. Do you think youâ??re missing out as a rock star?

[Laughs.] Iâ??m not interested in sharing with you those aspects or the darker sides of the cliche.

Unfortunately, for those of you who think that without living a part of the cliche, youâ??re not in a rock band, usually those guys are the guys that are not talking to you today. Theyâ??re the ones at home watching TV.

How do you take care of yourself?

Iâ??ve had my share of abuse but, I donâ??t know, performing is part of my work-out I think. I wake up in the morning and go to work. Itâ??s my job not to be the fat Elvis. Iâ??m not ready to be the fat Elvis yet [laughs].

Will you become the next Mick Jagger?

I hold the Stones in such esteem.

Heâ??s 20 years older than I am, and I canâ??t imagine sitting here talking to in 20 years about Greatest Hits Volume 4.

Itâ??s astounding to me that, at 68, the Stones still want to tour.

So no plans to retire, then?

The beauty of my life is that I have no plan.

There were things I was going to do and I did, and itâ??s been such a wonderful life.

But I have no intention of quitting and Iâ??m definitely not the kind of shoulda-coulda-woulda people that didnâ??t finish it off and become gardeners.

Thatâ??s what life is: a series of experiments.