American rock band Bon Jovi played for around 60,000 people in front of the People Palace in the Romanian capital Bucharest on Sunday evening, putting on one of the most entertaining shows in the Romanian city this year.

“Today we had the remarkable opportunity to play Romania for the first time... EVER!! Thank you, fans, for having us! It was an incredible show and definitely worth the wait! You guys were amazing!”, the band wrote on its Facebook page.

The show started at 20,00 with the song 'Raise Your Hands', followed by 'You Give Love a Bad Name'. Jon Bon Jovi, the band's leader, who has recently had a knee surgery, was accompanied by guitar player Richie Sambora (in picture, left), recently out of rehab. Sambora turned 52 yesterday and the Romanian audience sang Happy Birthday to him.

The highlight of the three-hour concert, which was supposed to last only one hour, was the moment when Jon Bon Jovi (in picture, right) picked up a Romanian flag which had the name of the band on it, and sang 'Bed of Roses' with the flag wrapped around his shoulders. The band returned on stage a couple of times for repeats.

Bon Jovi’s current lineup is made up of Jon Bon Jovi (vocal, guitar), Richie Sambora (guitar, backing vocals), Tico Torres (drums), David Bryan (keyboard, piano, backing vocals) and bassist Hugh McDonald.

Bon Jovi sold over 120 million albums worldwide. Their first album (“Bon Jovi”) was released in 1984 and was followed by “7800° Fahrenheit” in 1985, “Slippery When Wet” in 1986, “New Jersey” (1988) and “Keep the Faith” (1992). In 2009, the band released their 11th album, “The Circle”.

In February 2010, the band set out on The Circle Tour and will perform 135 concerts in 30 states.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Bon Jovi's official website)