Alec John Such, founding member and former bassist of the band Bon Jovi, is dead at the age of 70, according to a statement released June 5 on Instagram.
Bon Jovi took to social media to post about the loss of their beloved bandmate, and included a touching video tribute set to the songs from the band. Such played with Bon Jovi from 1983 to 1994, according to the BBC, and was credited for helping create the legendary hits, “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin on a Prayer,” and “Bad Medicine.” The band captioned its touching message: “Alec, you will be missed.”
Such’s cause of death has not yet been revealed.
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“We are heartbroken to hear the news of the passing of our dear friend Alec John Such. He was an original,” the band continued.
The band then hailed Such as being a pivotal influence on the creation of the group.
“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 – He was a childhood friend of Tico and brought Richie to see us perform.” (RELATED: ‘F*ck Everyone’: Eddie Van Halen’s Son Calls Everyone Who Watches Show About His Father’s ‘Last Hours’ ‘F*cking Disgusting’)
“Alec was always wild and full of life. Today those special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye . We’ll miss him dearly,” the post continued.
The video tribute showed a touching throwback video of Such from his early days with Bon Jovi, and he could be heard saying “The Bon Jovi band is definitely a family.”