Mark St. John

Mark Leslie Norton (February 7, 1956 – April 5, 2007), better known as Mark St. John, was an American guitarist best known for his brief stint with the hard rock band Kiss from April to November 1984.

His work can be heard on the band's 1984 album Animalize and their 2023 live album Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY.

After leaving Kiss, he co-founded the band White Tiger.

Prior to joining Kiss in 1984, St. John worked as a teacher and played guitar in a Southern California cover band called Front Page.

Guitar maker Grover Jackson helped St. John get in touch with Paul Stanley in early 1984.

He was selected as Kiss' new lead guitarist after an audition, and he subsequently signed a five-year contract with the band, replacing Vinnie Vincent.

St. John would ultimately be with Kiss for only seven months, with his work being featured on the 1984 album Animalize, the second album of Kiss' post-makeup era.

St. John's only video appearance with Kiss was in the video for the hit single "Heaven's on Fire".

During the mid-1984 recording sessions for Animalize, St. John clashed with his new bandmates frequently.

Drummer Eric Carr said later that "as soon as he joined the band we knew that there was a problem", even before he had played his first live show with Kiss.

The guitarist was "over-qualified" according to Carr, and his talent caused him to behave arrogantly in the studio.

Gene Simmons had asked St. John to record a bass part and Carr later remarked to him that he thought one of the notes sounded wrong.

St. John's furious reaction left Simmons extremely unimpressed, and Carr "wanted to kill Mark" following the incident.

Simmons and Stanley took St. John aside following the outburst and made it clear that such behavior would not be tolerated.

Stanley said that, additionally, they had tremendous difficulty writing and recording guitar solos for Animalize, with St. John often being unable to play the same thing twice if a second take was required.

He also said that he had to re-record sections of St. John's solos himself to make them work better within the framework of the song.

Kiss issued a press release stating that St. John had developed severe reactive arthritis and was unable to play guitar.

Bruce Kulick would serve as his temporary replacement for the opening European leg of the Animalize World Tour.

St. John rejoined Kiss shortly after the band returned to America.

It was at this point that he was instructed to watch the shows and learn the dynamics of the Animalize live show, in order for Stanley and Simmons to be able to smoothly insert him into the show.

St. John made his live debut with Kiss on November 27, 1984, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Kulick played the first five songs of the show, with St. John later taking the stage to play five songs, with Kulick then returning to finish the show.

St. John and Kulick appeared together at the end of the show, bowing with the rest of the band members.

The following day, St. John played his first full show with the band on November 28, 1984, in Poughkeepsie, New York.

This show was later released as a KISS: Off the Soundboard live album in April 2023.

Finally, on November 29, 1984, St. John played his final full concert with Kiss, in Binghamton, New York.

Following these shows, it quickly became apparent that Kulick was a more natural fit for Kiss than was St. John.

As a result, he was let go on December 7, 1984, after a Kiss concert in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Kulick was announced as Kiss' new permanent lead guitarist the next day.

St. John later confessed that his medical condition had been a cover story, saying "The arthritis thing was really a cover up for the other reasons, you know what I'm trying to say?".

St. John is the only member of Kiss not to appear on any album front cover, as the Animalize cover features only a tapestry of animal prints.

However, he is posing with the rest of the band on the album's back cover.

In January 1985 St. John teamed up with vocalist David Donato and drummer Barry Brandt of Angel to work on developing some demo ideas.

By March he was playing live again, appearing at an all-star jam session at the FM Station Club.

The lineup included Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge (Kiss Revolution, April/May 1985).

St. John also performed at a sold-out audience at a benefit jazz concert for Greenpeace.

Some of the musicians playing alongside St. John included the Steve Hooks Band, Stu Nevitt (Shadowfax), Slyde Hyde (Tom Scott/Supertramp), Al Aarons (Count Basie), plus other special all-star guests.

St. John and Donato soon formed White Tiger.

They had written most of the material for the album by mid-1985 and set out to complete a lineup with which to record.

St. John died suddenly under murky circumstances in early April 2007, several months after being badly beaten during a brief stay in an Orange County jail.