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Bon Jovi Founding Bassist Alec John Such Has Died

Photo: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Alec John Such, the original bassist for Bon Jovi, has died. He was 70. Jon Bon Jovi announced the passing of his former bandmate on social media, writing “To be honest, we found our way to each other thru him — He was a childhood friend of Tico and brought Richie to see us perform.” Jon Such played in the band Message with Richie Sambora before joining Bon Jovi. He came to the band after seeing Jon Bon Jovi & the Wild Ones play in a club that he was managing. John Such had lived an entire life before joining Bon Jovi, and was a decade older than his bandmates. He left the band in 1994, replaced by Hugh McDonald. “When I was 43, I started to get burned out,” he told the Asbury Park Press in 2000 (quoted by Variety). “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.” The vibes never soured between John Such and the band he left. “He and Richie were very close. Richie never had a bad word to say about him,” a source told People. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with his former bandmates in 2018.

Bon Jovi Founding Bassist Alec John Such Has Died