Alec John Such: Former Bon Jovi bassist dies aged 70

A founding member of the legendary US rock band Bon Jovi, former bassist Alec John Such, has died at the age of 70, the group announced.

Such played with them from 1983 to 1994, when they had such hits as You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin’ on a Prayer and Bad Medicine.

He was credited with bringing the band together and was remembered as a dear friend who was “wild and full of life”.

No details were given of how or where he had died.

“Alec was integral to the formation of the band,” singer-songwriter Jon Bon Jovi tweeted. “To be honest we found our way to each other thru him…”

A childhood friend of drummer Tico Torres, he brought guitarist and songwriter Richie Sambora to see the band perform, Bon Jovi said.

“Today those special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye,” he added. “We’ll miss him dearly.”

Born in New York on 14 November 1951, Such became a familiar figure on the New Jersey music scene where the band emerged, the Associated Press reports. He originally played in a band called The Message.

As manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, he was responsible for booking Jon Bon Jovi & The Wild Ones before joining the band himself.

He was older than his bandmates, as he remarked years later in an interview for The Asbury Park Press.

“The record company used to lie about my age,” he said. “I was 31 when I joined. I was a good 10 years older than the rest of the band. My sister eventually got really mad because the papers would describe her as my older sister when really she was younger.”

The age gap was the reason he eventually left, he said.

“When I was 43, I started to get burned out. It felt like work and I didn’t want to work. The reason I got into a band to begin with is because I didn’t want to work.”

Replaced by Hugh John McDonald, he briefly rejoined for the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

“When Jon Bon Jovi called me up and asked me to be in his band many years ago, I soon realised how serious he was and he had a vision that he wanted to bring us to,” he said at the time. “And I am only too happy to have been a part of that vision.

Source: bbc.com