Forty years ago, Bon Jovi released Slippery When Wet, and suddenly New Jersey had a few more rock stars, MTV had a few more music videos, and hairspray manufacturers probably started planning their retirements.
Now, legendary rock photographer Mark “WEISSGUY” Weiss is bringing those memories back to where much of the story began.
On Friday, November 6, 2026, Weiss will celebrate the album’s 40th anniversary with a special photography exhibition at The Art Spot Gallery in Asbury Park, New Jersey, featuring rare images from one of rock music’s most defining eras.
And unlike the millions of fans who experienced Bon Jovi’s rise through album covers, magazines and MTV, Weiss was actually there.
The exhibition will showcase photographs from the original Slippery When Wet album cover sessions, backstage dressing rooms, tour buses and live performances, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the band during its transformation from promising New Jersey rockers into international superstars.
Released August 18, 1986, Slippery When Wet delivered three songs that became permanent fixtures in rock history: “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
The album helped turn Bon Jovi into one of the biggest bands in the world, and Weiss documented the journey with the kind of access that simply can’t be recreated decades later.
These weren’t carefully staged anniversary photographs.
They were moments captured while the story was actually happening.
The celebration will also introduce a special 100-page collector’s edition of ROCK SCENE RELOADED, dedicated to Weiss’s photography from the Slippery When Wet era.
The glossy publication features rare portraits, album cover photographs, backstage images, tour memories and other glimpses into the band’s breakthrough years.
Weiss will be on hand to meet fans and sign copies of his photography book, The Decade That Rocked.
But the evening won’t be limited to photographs.
At 6 p.m., Bon Jovi tribute band Never Say Goodbye will perform an acoustic set at The Art Spot before moving across the street to the Wonder Bar for two full electric sets beginning at 8 p.m.
Special guest Bill Panyik, who performed with Jon Bon Jovi in one of his early bands, will also participate in the celebration.
And because this is an anniversary of an album released in 1986, attendees are encouraged to dress accordingly.
The Wonder Bar will host a ROCK YOUR LOOK contest, inviting fans to break out the leather jackets, ripped jeans, bandanas and hairstyles that once required an alarming amount of aerosol assistance.
The grand prize?
A professional photo shoot with Mark Weiss himself.
Considering the photographer has spent decades capturing some of rock’s biggest names, that’s a considerably better souvenir than another concert T-shirt.
Additional prizes include classic rock photographs, magazines and merchandise.
The Art Spot exhibition begins at 5 p.m. on November 6 at 1100 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park and will remain on display through December 6, with gallery hours varying by day.
Doors at the Wonder Bar open at 7 p.m., with the electric performances beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
Fans who register in advance through ROCKSCENE.COM will receive a Slippery When Wet poster.
For Weiss, the exhibition represents more than a collection of photographs. It’s a chance to revisit the personalities, performances and moments that helped define an entire era of rock music.
Forty years later, the songs are still being played, the photographs are still telling stories, and apparently nobody has completely recovered from the hairstyles.
But that’s the thing about great rock-and-roll memories.
Some are simply too good to leave in the past.
Information provided by Mark “WEISSGUY” Weiss’s publicity team.