<p>Bassist Alec John Such, a founding member of Bon Jovi who played with the group in their 1980s heyday, has died aged 70, the rock band's frontman announced Sunday.</p>.<p>With a string of quickly memorable hits such as "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Wanted Dead or Alive," Bon Jovi packed arenas in the 1980s on their marathon, pyrotechnic-fueled tours.</p>.<p>The hard rockers from New Jersey were led by namesake Jon Bon Jovi, who said Sunday that the band had "found our way to each other thru him."</p>.<p>"As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band," the singer said in a statement on Twitter.</p>.<p>Bon Jovi said Such was a childhood friend of drummer Tico Torres and had brought Richie Sambora to see the band perform before he later joined as lead guitarist.</p>.<p>No cause of death was announced.</p>.<p>Unlike many hair metal bands that were their contemporaries, Bon Jovi preserved a more family friendly image, helping the band win a following in diverse corners of the world.</p>.<p>The anthem rockers are one of the top-selling bands of all time, and won a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.</p>.<p>Such, who played with the group from 1983 to 1994, and Sambora, who quit in 2013, reunited with the band for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2018.</p>.<p>"When Jon Bon Jovi called me up and asked me to be in his band many years ago, I soon realized how serious he was and he had a vision that he wanted to bring us to," Such said at the induction ceremony.</p>.<p>"I am only too happy to have been a part of that vision."</p>.<p>Bon Jovi was notably one of the first Western rock group approved to tour the then Soviet Union when the communist system opened up under Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost reforms.</p>
<p>Bassist Alec John Such, a founding member of Bon Jovi who played with the group in their 1980s heyday, has died aged 70, the rock band's frontman announced Sunday.</p>.<p>With a string of quickly memorable hits such as "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Wanted Dead or Alive," Bon Jovi packed arenas in the 1980s on their marathon, pyrotechnic-fueled tours.</p>.<p>The hard rockers from New Jersey were led by namesake Jon Bon Jovi, who said Sunday that the band had "found our way to each other thru him."</p>.<p>"As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band," the singer said in a statement on Twitter.</p>.<p>Bon Jovi said Such was a childhood friend of drummer Tico Torres and had brought Richie Sambora to see the band perform before he later joined as lead guitarist.</p>.<p>No cause of death was announced.</p>.<p>Unlike many hair metal bands that were their contemporaries, Bon Jovi preserved a more family friendly image, helping the band win a following in diverse corners of the world.</p>.<p>The anthem rockers are one of the top-selling bands of all time, and won a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.</p>.<p>Such, who played with the group from 1983 to 1994, and Sambora, who quit in 2013, reunited with the band for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2018.</p>.<p>"When Jon Bon Jovi called me up and asked me to be in his band many years ago, I soon realized how serious he was and he had a vision that he wanted to bring us to," Such said at the induction ceremony.</p>.<p>"I am only too happy to have been a part of that vision."</p>.<p>Bon Jovi was notably one of the first Western rock group approved to tour the then Soviet Union when the communist system opened up under Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost reforms.</p>