Alec John Such (born November 14, 1951 in
Yonkers, New YorkYonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, New York, with a population of 196,086 . More recent estimates put the population at 197,234 in 2002, 197,126 in 2004 and 196,425 in 2005...
) is the former
bassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
for the band
Bon JoviBon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , Bon Jovi formed in 1983 with guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres. Other than the departure of Alec John Such in 1994 and...
. He left the band in 1994 and has not been officially replaced. As well as playing bass guitar, Such sang backing vocals and occasionally took the lead for part of 'Blood on Blood' at live shows.
According to interviews with
Jon Bon JoviJohn Francis Bongiovi, Jr. , better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League...
and
Richie SamboraRichard "Richie" Stephen Sambora , is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer/ songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the popular rock band Bon Jovi. Along with frontman Jon Bon Jovi, he forms the primary songwriting unit of the band...
in an episode of
Behind the MusicBehind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and continued to air new episodes sporadically. The show has recently been resurrected and will begin airing episodes in the summer and into the fall, starting with profiles on Lil Wayne and...
, Such was dismissed from the band for unsatisfactory performance during live
concertA concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig"...
s.
Alec John Such (born November 14, 1951 in
Yonkers, New YorkYonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, New York, with a population of 196,086 . More recent estimates put the population at 197,234 in 2002, 197,126 in 2004 and 196,425 in 2005...
) is the former
bassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
for the band
Bon JoviBon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , Bon Jovi formed in 1983 with guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres. Other than the departure of Alec John Such in 1994 and...
. He left the band in 1994 and has not been officially replaced. As well as playing bass guitar, Such sang backing vocals and occasionally took the lead for part of 'Blood on Blood' at live shows.
According to interviews with
Jon Bon JoviJohn Francis Bongiovi, Jr. , better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League...
and
Richie SamboraRichard "Richie" Stephen Sambora , is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer/ songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the popular rock band Bon Jovi. Along with frontman Jon Bon Jovi, he forms the primary songwriting unit of the band...
in an episode of
Behind the MusicBehind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and continued to air new episodes sporadically. The show has recently been resurrected and will begin airing episodes in the summer and into the fall, starting with profiles on Lil Wayne and...
, Such was dismissed from the band for unsatisfactory performance during live
concertA concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig"...
s. Also his quality of session recordings during the
Cross RoadCross Road is a greatest hits compilation released by the American band Bon Jovi in 1994. The album contains hits from between "Bon Jovi" and "Keep The Faith" and two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night", as well as a new, updated rendition of "Livin' on a...
album were a contributing factor to his dismissal from Bon Jovi. However, viewers were not able to hear his side of the story; he declined to be interviewed by the show.
On Jon Bon Jovi's
BiographyBiography is a documentary television series. Originally a half-hour filmed series produced for syndication by David Wolper in 1962-63 and hosted by Mike Wallace, the A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
special Sambora claims that Alec "was tired" and that with Bon Jovi's ambitions "you need to keep up". Whether Such was fired for subpar performances, quit on his own merits, or left for other reasons has still not been definitively answered. It is still a heated topic for debate among Bon Jovi fans to this day.
Before Bon Jovi, Such played with fellow Bon Jovi member
Richie SamboraRichard "Richie" Stephen Sambora , is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer/ songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the popular rock band Bon Jovi. Along with frontman Jon Bon Jovi, he forms the primary songwriting unit of the band...
in a band called Message and in Phantom's Opera with
Tico TorresHector Samuel Juan "Tico" Torres is an American drummer and percussionist of Bon Jovi. He also has taken lead vocals on a song on the box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong, as well as backing vocals on a couple of the early Bon Jovi tracks, notably "Born to Be My Baby" and "Love for...
and Dean Fasano of Message and Prophet.
Such gave an interview with David Ling for a magazine and gave details of behind the scenes information and was asked to leave. Jon Bon Jovi once said "what goes on in the family, stays in the family." Jon tried to sue David Ling over the controversial quotes at first stating Ling was exaggerating, but Ling had the entire interview with Such on tape to back up the story.
Hugh McDonaldHugh John McDonald is a session musician and bassist. He has played with many artists both live and in the studio, and has recorded with Willie Nelson, Richie Sambora, Steve Goodman, Ringo Starr, Bon Jovi, Lita Ford, Michael Bolton, Cher, Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, and others.He is...
took over Such's position as bassist, having already played on several albums from Bon Jovi's
debutBon Jovi is the debut album from American rock band Bon Jovi, released January 21, 1984. Produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn, the album is significant for being the only Bon Jovi album on which a song appears that was not written or co-written by members of the band.-Making of the record:In...
onwards. However, he is not an "official" member of the band, since the members agreed not to officially replace Such and therefore does not appear on album artwork or publicity shots.
After leaving Bon Jovi, Such has managed a couple of local
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
bands, and also owns a
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are the most affordable form of...
shop in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
.
Alec managed the Chicago, IL based rock band
7th heaven band7th heaven is a Chicago, Illinois-based rock band. Formed in 1985 by Richard Hofherr, Mike Mooshey and Tony DiGiulio.In 2008 the band consists of Richard Hofherr, Mike Mooshey, Mark Kennetz, Nick Cox & Keith Semple ....
in 1998 along with
James YoungJames "J.Y." Young is a guitarist, singer and songwriter, and member of the rock band, Styx. Young began playing keyboard and piano at the age of five. He attended Calumet High in Chicago and learned to play clarinet and guitar during those years.J.Y...
of the band
StyxStyx is an American rock band. Their hit songs have included "Come Sail Away", "Lady", "Mr. Roboto", "Renegade", "Babe", "Blue Collar Man" and "The Best of Times"...
.
Alec briefly rejoined Bon Jovi on stage in 2001 during concerts at the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ and
Giants StadiumGiants Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. It primarily serves as the home stadium for the New York Giants and New York Jets American football teams of the NFL, and the New York Red Bulls soccer team of MLS...
in East Rutherford, NJ.
[1]http://www.getreadytorock.com/bstage_heroes/dave_ling.htm