Alec John Such, the bassist and a founding member of Bon Jovi, has died at the age of 70.

Jon Bon Jovi announced the death on Twitter on Sunday (US time).

Such was the New Jersey rock band’s bassist from 1983 to 1994. No details on when or how he died were available.

“He was an original,” Bon Jovi wrote.

“As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band.”

Tweet from @jonbonjovi

Bon Jovi credited Such for bringing the band together, noting he was a childhood friend of drummer Tico Torres and brought guitarist and songwriter Richie Sambora to see the band perform.

Such had played in a band called the Message with Sambora.

New York-born Such was a veteran figure in the thriving New Jersey music scene that helped spawn Bon Jovi.

As manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, John Such booked Jon Bon Jovi & The Wild Ones before joining the singer-songwriter’s band.

He played with Bon Jovi through the group’s heyday in the 1980s.

Such left the band in 1994, and was replaced by bassist Hugh McDonald. He later rejoined the band for its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

“When Jon Bon Jovi called me up and asked me to be in his band many years ago, I soon realised how serious he was and he had a vision that he wanted to bring us to,” Such said at the Hall of Fame induction.

“And I am only too happy to have been a part of that vision.”