Marie Hadley was born into an Irish family in Birmingham in 1965. She had a younger brother and sister and a large extended family. She travelled by ferry to Ireland for every holiday for her first eight years. They moved back to Dublin for approx. five years from 1974-1979. The move coincided with the Birmingham Pub Bombings and Marie talked about how the Irish community was treated following the incident.  
She describes how life was very different in Dublin and how strange she found the experience of attending a strict convent school. Her mum found it difficult to settle in Ireland as women had fewer rights there in comparison to England. Her relocation to Ireland instilled in her a desire to see more of the world and fostered a love of music. Music continued to play a significant role in her life and was one of the factors that drew her to her future husband at age sixteen.
She describes the family’s return to Britain and how it was to leave school during a recession. She spoke of the youth training course in administration which would eventually lead her to a 34-year career with Birmingham City Council in their procurement department.