Singer Marianne Faithfull dies at the age of 78
Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78.
A spokesperson for her music promotion company Republic Media said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull.
“Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family.
“She will be dearly missed.”
Faithfull was best known for her 1964 hit As Tears Go By, written by Sir Mick Jagger, with whom she had a well-publicised relationship, and fellow Rolling Stones star Keith Richards.
She also starred in films including The Girl On A Motorcycle and 2007’s Irina Palm, for which she was nominated for a European Film Award for Best Actress.
In recent years, she provided voice work for the 2021 remake of Dune and 2023’s Wild Summon.
Faithfull in The Girl On A Motorcycle. Pic: Mid-Atlantic/Ares/Claridge/Kobal/Shutterstock
She and Sir Mick began seeing each other in 1966 and became one of the most glamorous couples of Swinging London.
He paid tribute to his “wonderful friend and beautiful singer and a great actress”, and said he was “so saddened” by her death, as “she was so much part of my life for so long”.
Next to a picture of the pair arm in arm on Instagram, Sir Mick said Faithfull “will always be remembered”.
His Stones bandmates Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards also paid tribute, with Richards posting on Instagram that he was “so sad and will miss her.”
His post was accompanied by a picture of the pair enjoying a drink together.
Wood wrote on Jagger’s post: “Farewell dear Marianne.”
Born in 1946, Faithfull started her singing career in 1964 after being discovered by the Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
Her self-titled debut album was released a year later, with As Tears Go By reaching number nine on the UK singles chart.
She went on to have a string of successful singles, including Come And Stay With Me, This Little Bird, and Summer Nights, and famously dated Sir Mick from 1966 to 1970.
Faithfull was prolific throughout the 60s, releasing six albums – some only in the UK and some for the US – as well as contributing backing vocals to the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and inspiring the Stones’ Sympathy For The Devil.
That decade also saw her star in films like 1967’s I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname – where she was one of the first people to say f*** in a mainstream studio film – 1968’s The Girl On A Motorcycle, and Tony Richardson’s 1969 adaptation of Hamlet.
Her affair with Sir Mick was notorious, with the couple being arrested in 1968 for possession of cannabis.
She was also infamously found by police wearing only a bear skin rug when they arrived for a drugs raid at Richards’ home in 1967.
Faithfull and Mick Jagger dated from 1966 to 1970. Pic: Shutterstock
After breaking up with the Stones frontman, Faithfull spent two years homeless in Soho while suffering from anorexia and heroin addiction, before she started living in a squat.
She wrote in her 1994 autobiography: “For me, being a junkie was an admirable life. It was total anonymity, something I hadn’t known since I was 17.
“As a street addict in London, I finally found it. I had no telephone, no address.”
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In 1979, following success in Ireland with the country-themed Dreamin’ My Dreams, Faithfull released the Grammy-nominated Broken English – widely considered her best album.
She later achieved critical acclaim as a jazz and blues singer with 1987’s Strange Weather and went to rehab that same decade.
Faithfull performing in Montreux, Switzerland, in 2009. Pic: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA/Shutterstock
Faithfull released a total of 21 solo albums throughout her career. Her most recent was the spoken word album She Walks In Beauty from 2021, which saw her work with frequent Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis.
She made a full recovery from breast cancer in 2006.
