It is with great sadness that we report that former KISS lead guitarist Mark St. John died yesterday morning of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 51 years old.
St. John (real name: Mark Norton) appeared on the 1984 KISS album Animalize after replacing Vinnie Vincent (who had replaced original member Ace Frehley).
Unfortunately, St. John’s big-break with KISS was cut short after he developed an arthritic condition (Reiter’s Syndrome) that caused his hands and arms to swell. His ailment made playing live difficult and resulted in the guitarist only performing three shows (only one show in full) with the band on their Animalize tour. St. John’s last day with the band was December 8, 1984, less than eight months after joining. He was replaced by Bruce Kulick.
After leaving KISS, his health improved enough for the guitarist to try more musical endeavors with former KISS drummer Peter Criss and singer Jeff Scott Soto . He released one album with the grougp he formed, White Tiger, in 1986. In 2001, St. John released an all-instrumental CD titled Magic Bullet Theory.
St. John can be seen in the KISS video for “Heaven’s On Fire.”
Source: KNAC
