Songwriter, musician, and actress Marianne Faithfull has died.

News of the artist’s passing was confirmed a few moments ago through an official statement; she was 78 years old. Marianne Faithfull had suffered multiple health problems during recent years, including breast cancer and emphysema caused by decades of smoking. The English artist caught COVID-19 in 2020, and doctors didn’t expect her to pull through; making a recovery, she released her 21st album ‘She Walks In Beauty’ to across-the-board acclaim.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull,” a statement said.

“Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.”

Pulled in the pop maelstrom by Andrew Loog Oldham – then manager of the Rolling Stones and Enfant terrible of the music industry – Marianne Faithfull scored a number of solo hits, including the immortal Jagger & Richards penned ‘As Tears Go By’.

Becoming an item with Mick Jagger, the pair’s relationship would define an era – Marianne Faithfull famously opened the door to the police during their 1967 drugs bust.

A huge influence on the Stones frontman, Marianne Faithfull fell into addiction as the 70s opened, enduring some brutally hard moments in her personal life. Nevertheless, she persevered – 1979’s ‘Broken English’ is an astonishing record, both beautiful and damaged in equal measure.

Very much a woman who walked her own path, Marianne Faithfull’s work across the decades betrayed a staunch sense of individuality.

—

—

CLASH spoke to Marianne Faithfull at length in 2009 – she told us…

Well, I make my luck. I can’t say that it just landed on me without me working for it. But yeah, the time when I started to work and write my songs was a very good period for me. Maybe I was on drugs, but that didn’t really matter. A lot of people work very well with a handicap. 

Re-visit that conversation in our archive.

—