To the "Alec" lovers:

Call it what you want. But Jon kicking Alec out of the band after 12 years for not being a good bass player is absolute shit! Bon Jovi might be the first and only band in the history of bands to actually kick out a member after 10 years of service for "not being good enough" You listen to Jon on VH1 and believe his bullshit. Every band has a weak player and there is always someone out there better. You don't just kick a dude out. Wake Up People

And after the NJ tour, why would the biggest band in the WORLD break up? Money Money Money. Richie wanted half!!!!! Jon said FU....

Look, I know people (around Jon's age) who've played the Jersey scene with those guys. They are not fans. They are not haters. Just regular guys. They have told me some cool stories. Some I've already know and others like the one above. I could tell that they are not BSing me and really could'nt give a shit if I believed them or not anyway.

I'm sure there was some truth to Jon's Alec story but at the end of the day, Mr Loyal JBJ who doesn't like change, who uses the same song writers and producers over and over again, did not kick Alec out b/c he was concered with how the band sounded live. It took him 12 years to figure that all out?

Hummm, after 6 tours.... 50 countries ....... 60 million albums...... 10 million faces.... and 12 years, lets get rid of our average Bass Player for a better one.

And where exactly did you come up with this theory??? The only "money" issue I believe was that after the SWW/NJ era that the accounting of where all the money went and was spent and where it ended up wasn't done to Jons satisfaction.

But you do let a dude go if he can't be bothered any longer to learn the new music prior to tour time. I've always suspected it was more of the "you are all in, or all out " thing with Jon more than anything else. Alec opted to distance himself from the band, to do "other things" while the band made records, then just show up and reap the benefits of their work live.

Jon kicked Alec out because he was carrying on the Rock & Roll behaviour that the rest of the band left behind on The New Jersey tour.

Before KTF Jon obviously sat down with the guys and said "Hey, I'm the boss, if you don't like it you can **** off" So Richie, Dave and Tico towed the line with the newly crowned CEO.

IMO Jon couldn't wait to get rid of him. If you watch Access All Areas you'll see Alec ribbing Jon a lot and making him the butt of the jokes. Jon never joined in.

I wasn't aware Richie left that behavior behind in 1989. I guess 2011 is the 1989

I don't think you're 100% wrong, HOWEVER I think it's a mixture of factors.
1. We know that Alec probably didn't play on every studio track on the first four records, as Hugh is credited on all of them.

2. As stated before, the bass sound on KTF doesn't sound like Alec at all, much more of a Huey style.

3. It's easy to notice a decline in Alec's musicianship between 80's bootlegs and KTF-Era shows.

Now, personally I think it's a mixture of everything. Before the KTF sessions Jon basically took total control of the band (creating BJM and etc.) and judging by comments from AJS interviews, he didn't seem to take that well. This, coupled with contracts, coupled with a decline in live skills, coupled with the fact that Alec had probably not been a full studio member anyway all mixed into Alec's exit from the band.

on a side note: alec on bass and slash on guitar from 1994

He's the real rock of Bon Jovi. After he left, Bon Jovi got soft.

Richie may have continued to booze but he didn't turn up on stage drunk, well not until around 2005.

As far as I am concerned, Alec had a 100% success rate with all the albums he (allegedly)played on. He was a cool as f**k, metal head dude and I would love for him to come back.
I also think part of the appeal is the nostalgia factor, and the fact he has almost completely gone to ground. You never hear/see anything about the dude anymore.