Alec John Such, the former bassist of Bon Jovi, has died at the age of 70.
Such was also a founding member of the iconic rock band.
Jon Bon Jovi described him as “wild and full of life” and said “we’ll miss him dearly”.
Announcing the bassist's death in a statement posted to Twitter, Jon Bon Jovi said: “We are heartbroken to hear the news of the passing of our dear friend Alec John Such.
“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."
Alec John Such had an illustrious career in music and played with Bon Jovi for nearly a decade. Here's everything we know about his career and why he eventually left the band.
Alec John Such’s musical career
Alec John Such was born in New York in 1951 and went on to become a well-known figure in the thriving New Jersey music scene where Bon Jovi emerged.
He originally played in a band called The Message with Richie Sambora.
Such also worked as a manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, and he booked Jon Bon Jovi & the Wild Ones to play while working there.
Jon Bon Jovi has credited him as a founding member of the band. Such was a childhood friend of the band's drummer, Tico Torres, and bought Richie Sambora to see the band perform.
They went on to join Bon Jovi, with Such as bassist and Sambora as lead guitarist.
Alec played with the band from 1983 and throughout their heyday until 1994.
During his time in Bon Jovi, the band had some of their greatest hits, including Livin’ On A Prayer and You Give Love A Bad Name.
Why did Alec John Such quit Bon Jovi?
In 1994 Alec decided to leave the band and was replaced by Hugh McDonald.
Such said that the reason he left the band was because of the age gap between him and the other band members.
He was actually a decade older than the other members, and in an interview with The Asbury Park Press Alec said: "The record company used to lie about my age.
"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."
But he went on to say that the difference in age meant he couldn’t go on as long as the other members.
"When I was 43, I started to get burned out. It felt like work and I didn't want to work," he added.
"The reason I got into a band to begin with is because I didn't want to work."
In 2018 the bassist briefly rejoined Bon Jovi for the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.