Alec John Such
Born: November 14, 1951
Died: June 4, 2022
Alec John Such, who was a founding member of US rock band Bon Jovi, has died at the age of 70, writes Garry Scott. The bassist played with them during their glory years 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. "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 through him..."
Born in New York, Such became a familiar figure on the New Jersey music scene. As manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, he booked Jon Bon Jovi & The Wild Ones before joining the band himself.
"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."
He left the band in 1994, after their greatest hits album Cross Road, because of that age gap.
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."
At the time, Jon Bon Jovi said of his departure: "Of course it hurts. But I learned to accept and respect it. The fact that I'm a workaholic, studio in, studio out, stage on, stage off, want to be dealing with music day and night, doesn't mean everyone else has to adjust to that pace. Alec wanted to quit for a while now, so it didn't come as a complete surprise."
Such rejoined the band on stage for Bon Jovi's induction ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
“Alec was always wild and full of life,” Jon Bon Jovi added this week. “Today these special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. We will miss him dearly.”
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