Bon Jovi's Aug. 19-20 shows at Wembley National Stadium in London were the final concerts at the 100-plus-year-old building. It is being razed for a new stadium slated to be finished in May 2005.

"They knocked the joint down after we played there," Sambora said.

This fall and winter, Bon Jovi will concentrate on building on its solid North American fan base, to whom the band is bringing its party through December.

"Our show is really cool, man. We like to have a lot of fun. That’s an important part of what this band is about. Jon is an unbelievably great frontman. He has a way of involving the audience in every show. That’s very, very important. If the host of the party is having fun, that’s what makes the party fun."

The setlist is, more or less, rooted in a greatest-hits theme. That's because the band "hasn't been around in awhile," Sambora said.

"We want to give everyone a good healthy dose of songs that they know and a bunch of stuff off the new record," he said.

The New Jersey band's latest album, "Crush," is classic Bon Jovi, with a few twists thrown in. "Say It Isn’t So," with its call-and-answer chorus between Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi, has a soaring Beatle-esque quality to it. "Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars" is a rollicking tale of an invincible couple.

"Crush" has been dubbed a "contemporary" record, which Sambora takes as a compliment.

"Anytime anybody gives you a compliment like 'being current,' I think that’s a good thing. We never really went away, but I think the perception in America was that we did. Honestly, we never did. We had many, many hit records throughout the ‘90s and now, obviously, throughout our career," he said.

"It just seemed that in the middle of the '90s, it got a little quiet after our greatest hits. It seemed like in America people thought we kind of went away for some reason. Everywhere else in the world, our popularity was obviously soaring. But we’re back. Things are doing good and I guess it's a compliment."

During the "quiet" period, Sambora released a solo record. Singer Jon Bon Jovi did the same and started an acting career. Drummer Tico Torres studied painting and sculpting, and keyboardist David Bryan wrote songs for Broadway. Sambora, who is married to actress Heather Locklear, said each band member was able to bring his new experiences back to Bon Jovi.

"It’s a very, very good thing because it keeps the band fresh. It’s also, too, even if there’s a couple-year break, or a year break, or whatever happens, and the band gets back together, and it’s exciting to put these guys back together again. Always something good’s gonna happen," he said.

"I mean, every record that we've released since 1987, we’ve sold 10 million records worldwide. So there’s always gonna be something exciting happening from a musical standpoint, from a touring standpoint, from traveling around the world and doing everything. There’s an alchemy with these four guys that makes everything very special. So, keeping it fresh is the art that we’ve learned."

In its continuing effort to "keep it fresh," Bon Jovi hired an up and coming producer, Luke Ebbin, to co-produce the record with the band and Sambora.

"With the three of us together, there was never any absence [of] ideas. He’s gonna be a big star some day, Luke. He was recommended to us by a friend of ours. He knew his way around the new recording techniques ... That was part of bringing us into the [21st] century."

While the recording techniques have changed, one thing has remained with Bon Jovi.

"We just go out there and do what we do. Obviously, with almost 20 years of experience that we have, we’re a band of consummate professionals. We take pride in that. If there’s one thing that we can do, it is to be a great band. After all the experience we’ve had, and the thousands of shows that we’ve played, and the millions of records that we’ve sold, that’s one thing that we do take pride in--we’re a great rock and roll band."