Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull is an English singer, songwriter and actress from Hampstead, United Kingdom. Born in 1946, she begins her career in the 1960s and becomes associated with art pop, pop and rock.

1960s breakthrough and early recording career

She rises to prominence in the 1960s with the hit single “As Tears Go By” and becomes one of the leading female artists of the British Invasion in the United States. She starts her music career in 1964 after attending a Rolling Stones party, where Andrew Loog Oldham discovers her. Her debut album Marianne Faithfull appears alongside Come My Way in 1965, and the release is followed by a run of albums on Decca Records.

Film work and relationship with Mick Jagger

Faithfull also works as an actor, with film roles in I’ll Never Forget What’s'isname (1967), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and Hamlet (1969). From 1966 to 1970, she has a widely publicised relationship with Mick Jagger.

1970s difficulties and vocal change

Her career is later affected by personal problems in the 1970s. During that period, she is anorexic, homeless and addicted to heroin. She is also noted for a distinctive voice: her earlier higher and more melodic singing is altered by severe laryngitis and long-term drug use, leaving her voice rougher, cracked and lower in pitch. This sound is described by some critics as “whisky soaked” and is linked to the emotional force of her recordings.

Comeback and later albums

Faithfull returns to commercial success with Broken English in 1979, an album that is also widely treated as her defining recording. It becomes a commercial success and earns a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. She then continues with albums including Dangerous Acquaintances (1981), A Child’s Adventure (1983) and Strange Weather (1987).

Writing, honours and recognition

She writes three books about her life: Faithfull: An Autobiography (1994), Memories, Dreams & Reflections (2007) and Marianne Faithfull: A Life on Record (2014). She appears on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, receives the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Women’s World Awards, and is made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.