Marcie Free

Marcie Michelle Free (born Mark Edward Free; April 12, 1954 – October 24, 2025) was an American rock singer, best known as the lead singer of King Kobra, Signal and Unruly Child.

History

Early career, King Kobra and Signal (1973–1989) Free started singing professionally at the age of 19 while living in Flint, Michigan. In 1975, Free moved to Las Vegas, which eventually led to her relocating to Los Angeles in 1979.

Free met Carmine Appice in 1983, shortly before Appice was fired from Ozzy Osbourne's backing band. Appice recruited her to be the vocalist for his new project, King Kobra; while King Kobra was initially intended to be a solo project, Appice eventually decided to recruit two guitarists and a bassist to build a full band. The band was signed to Capitol Records in 1984. Free recorded two albums with King Kobra, Ready to Strike and Thrill of a Lifetime, before leaving King Kobra in November 1986 to pursue other musical interests.

In 1987, producer Peter McIan began to form a solo project called The Fugitive Kind with help from Erik Scott, a keyboardist, bassist and producer, as well as Mark Baker, a songwriter. The group also recruited drummer Jan Uvena. Free joined the group later, after which Ron Fair, then a new senior A&R representative at EMI Records, renamed the group Signal. Prior to the adoption of the name Signal, Free unsuccessfully proposed several alternate names for the group, one of which was Unruly Child, which she would use for a later group.

Personal life and death On June 24, 1989, Free married Laurie Richardson. They later divorced. Free stated that prior to her transition, she struggled with self-harm ideation and that transitioning was a "[decision] between life and death," but "very rewarding," and that "[if she] would've continued [her] life as Mark [she] would have died for sure."

Between the breakup of Signal and the formation of Unruly Child, Free worked as a courier in Los Angeles. No cause of death was publicly revealed.

Artistry Free cited Aretha Franklin as one of her greatest inspirations and included thanks to Franklin in the liner notes of some of her albums. Some of the artists Free grew up listening and singing to include The Four Seasons, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Grand Funk Railroad, Three Dog Night, Smokey Robinson, and Led Zeppelin, as well as several big band artists.

Discography Studio albums Long Way from Love (1993) Tormented (1995)

with King Kobra Ready to Strike (1985) Thrill of a Lifetime (1986)

with Signal Loud & Clear (1989) Signal Live (2000)

with Unruly Child Unruly Child (1992) Tormented (1995) Worlds Collide (2010) Down the Rabbit Hole (2014) Can't Go Home (2017) Big Blue World (2019) Our Glass House (2020)

Guest appearances David Cassidy – David Cassidy (1990) Desmond Child – Discipline (1991) Julio Iglesias – Crazy (1994) Bobby Kimball – Rise Up (1994) Venus & Mars – New Moon Rising (1998) Venus & Mars – Grand Trine (2009)