This has probably been covered before, so I will apologuise if it has. I stumbled across a bass players forum about Alec John Such. What I read was interesting. One commentator was at the front of the audience of a Bon Jovi show when Alec was playing bass. This guy had been playing bass himself for 20 years at the time and was watching Alec very intently. He commented that Alec was very good.

The other comments I heard that Alec played bass on all of 'Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi' (except Runaway obviously) and all of '7800 Degrees Fahrenheit' but didn't play on Slippery When Wet, New Jersey, Keep The Faith or Cross Road at all. All those bass parts where written and performed by Hugh McDonald since 1986. Apparently Alec had been dealing with drug and alcoholism during the Slippery When Wet - New Jersey era which affected his playing but was sober by the time they were recording Keep The Faith.

Is this true? I've never read nor heard anything official from Jon Bon Jovi about it. I know Hugh wrote and played the bass for Livin' On A Prayer and Keep The Faith and that Alec wasn't good enough to recorded These Days with them. I remember an interview when he said he wouldn't be recording in the studio anymore because he didn't enjoy it and would be just a touring member. This was before he was fired.

I think Alec certainly had some influence on the band because they made their best albums as the classic quintet. I don't think Bon Jovi was ever the same after he left.