Alec John Such, Bon Jovi’s first bassist and founding member, died at the age of 70.
Former bandmates of the rock legend paid tribute to Such, who left the band in 1994, on Twitter.
Variety was the first to report on his demise.
‘We are heartbroken to learn of our great friend Alec John Such’s demise,’ Jon Bon Jovi tweeted on Sunday.
He was an original. As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band. … To be honest, we found our way to each other thru him.’
The tweet continued: ‘He was a childhood friend of Tico [Torres] and brought Richie [Sambora] to see us perform. Alec was always wild and full of life. Today these special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. We will miss him dearly.’
John Such was the rock band’s bassist from 1983 to 1994. No details on when or how he died were immediately available.
The Yonkers, New York-born John Such was a veteran figure in the thriving New Jersey music scene that helped spawn Bon Jovi.
Bon Jovi credited John Such for bringing the band together, noting that he was a childhood friend of drummer Tico Torres and brought guitarist and songwriter Richie Sambora to see the band perform.
As manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, John Such booked Jon Bon Jovi & The Wild Ones before joining the singer-songwriter’s band.
He played with Bon Jovi through the group’s heyday in the 1980s. John Such had also played in a band called the Message with Sambora.
Hugh McDonald took over as bassist when John Such left the band in 1994.
In 2018, he returned to the band for its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
‘I quickly recognized how serious Jon Bon Jovi was when he phoned me up and asked me to join his band many years ago, and he had a vision that he wanted to get us there,’ John Such said at the Hall of Fame ceremony. ‘And I’m delighted to have contributed to that vision.’
