Bon Jovi tribute singer forced to change name after legal threat from rockers’ lawyers
A BON Jovi tribute singer has been forced to change his name from One Jovi after a legal threat from the rockers’ lawyers.
Andy Hearn, 53, trademarked the jokey moniker after other performers tried to copy it.
But he then got a cease-and-desist letter from the ’80s hitmakers, named after lead singer Jon Bon Jovi, saying the tag was too similar.
Engineering fitter Andy, of Rotherham, South Yorks, has been in the band for six years but was worried about the costs of tackling the Livin’ On A Prayer stars in court.
He said: “I was disappointed a multi-billion-pound company would be bothered about someone doing pubs and clubs for a few pennies.
“I said, ‘If you think I’m a threat, then thank you — it’s a compliment’.”
Andy said they claimed a tribute band name had to be at least 20 per cent different.
He said the exchange took place around three years ago and was resolved after several emails.
Andy was allowed to keep rocking Bon Jovi classics with his band – and at solo shows – under the ‘One Jovi’ name.
But he now releases his own songs under the tweaked moniker ‘Mr One Jovi’.
Andy insists it has not soured his love for the band, whose music he first discovered as a teenager.
He said: “It didn’t affect the way I feel about them.
“I remember listening to them when I was 14 and just absolutely loving it.”
Andy is now stepping out of Jon Bon Jovi’s shadow and chasing chart success with original music of his own.
Bon Jovi have been contacted for comment.