High Voltage, No Prescription: Bon Jovi’s ‘Bad Medicine
Released on 12 September 1988 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, New Jersey, “Bad Medicine” was Bon Jovi’s loud and unapologetic reminder that glam metal ruled the airwaves. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child, it delivered the band’s third U.S. No. 1 hit — a thunderous, tongue-in-cheek anthem about love, lust, and just the right kind of pain.
Prescription for a Hit
Built on a foundation of anthemic guitar riffs, crunching drums, and Jon Bon Jovi’s raspy charisma, “Bad Medicine” doesn’t hold back. From the opening guitar lick to its arena-sized chorus, it’s designed for maximum crowd participation. Bon Jovi isn’t subtle here — and that’s the point. The lyrics drip with medical metaphors, likening romantic obsession to addiction: “Your love is like bad medicine / Bad medicine is what I need.” It’s campy, clever, and crafted for stadiums.
The fake ending, where Jon shouts “Wait a minute — I’m not done!”, only amps up the track’s theatrical energy, making it a live-show staple ever since.
A Groundbreaking Crowd-Sourced Video
Rather than film a standard music video, Bon Jovi went meta. The video for “Bad Medicine” opens with a comedy bit by Sam Kinison, who incites fans to revolt against boring music videos. What follows is a fan-shot performance, with handheld cameras distributed to audience members who capture the chaos from their point of view. It was a bold, playful twist in the MTV era — a celebration of fans and the communal joy of rock ‘n’ roll.
Chart Performance and Global Reach
“Bad Medicine” was an immediate commercial success upon its release. In the United States, it shot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Bon Jovi’s third chart-topping single after “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.” The song also made a strong impact internationally, peaking at No. 4 in Australia, No. 5 in Canada, No. 10 in both the Netherlands and Ireland, and reaching No. 17 in the UK. Its widespread airplay and sales reaffirmed Bon Jovi’s global dominance in the late-’80s rock landscape.
Legacy
Loud, catchy, and totally over the top, “Bad Medicine” encapsulates everything that made Bon Jovi icons of their era. It’s a song that doesn’t pretend — it shouts, struts, and smirks, armed with big hooks and even bigger hair.
Decades later, it still slaps like a defibrillator set to 11.