ACCORDING to a leading rockstar, the Bon Jovi Experience are so close to the original band, he can barely tell the difference.

Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger said: “You could almost be fooled into thinking that this band was the real thing. He is quite simply a mirror image of the man himself. Have you seen this guy?

He looks so much like Jon Bon Jovi, it’s freaky, man.”

Lead singer Tony Pearce has been performing as Bon Jovi for more than 15 years and once appeared on breakfast television with the legend and rocked out on stage.

After he started singing, aged six, Tony had vocal tuition and learned how to play guitar.

He also worked with some of the best vocal coaches in the country before bumping into his soon-to-be bandmates at a gig.

Tony was invited to sing on stage and was soon touring the world playing the roll of Jon Bon Jovi in By Jovi.

After they split, he formed the Bon Jovi Experience and expanded the show, which includes all the classic hits such as Always, Dead or Alive and Living On A Prayer.

Bon Jovi sold more than 120 million records and were 14th in Q magazine’s 50 Greatest Bands of All Time.

The Bon Jovi Experience are at the Princes Theatre, Clacton, on Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £16.50 (£15 concessions) on 01255 686633.