Rock legend Marianne Faithfull dead at 78

A Rolling Stones ‘muse’ who became an acclaimed rock artist in her own right, Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78.

Rock legend and Rolling Stones ‘muse’ Marianne Faithfull has died at the age of 78.

In her early career, Faithfull was best known for sweet-voiced folk-pop songs like her debut single, the 1964 top 10 hit As Tears Go By, and for being the girlfriend to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. He and Stones guitarist Keith Richards had penned that song for her.

But after a period of heroin addiction that left her homeless on the streets of London, she later forged a more substantial music career, starting with her groundbreaking 1979 album Broken English.

Faithfull circa 2009. Picture: Getty

… and as a 1960s pop starlet.

That album, home to songs like The Ballad of Lucy Jordan and the blistering, explicit Why’d Ya Do It, reset her music career and was considered by Faithfull herself to be her “masterpiece.”

The album showcased Faithfull’s new, world-worn voice, sounding like a completely different artist to the young woman who’d scored a series of chart hits in the previous decade.

Faithfull at Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Faithfull would remain a prolific artist for decades to come, collaborating with the likes of PJ Harvey, Beck, Nick Cave and Billy Corgan on acclaimed albums like Kissin Time (2002) Before the Poison (2005). Her most recent studio album, She Walks In Beauty, was released in 2021.

“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,” a statement released today read.

Jagger also released a statement on social media reacting to the news: “I am so saddened to hear of the death of Marianne Faithfull. She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered,” he wrote.

Faithfull with the most famous of her romantic partners, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

Marianne was born on December 29, 1946 in Hampstead, London, and was in a relationship with Jagger from 1966 to 1970. She married three times: to artist John Dunbar for a year in 1965, to musician Ben Brierly from 1979 to 1986, and to actor Giorgio Della Terza from 1988 to 1991.

In recent years, Faithfull was beset by a series of serious health problems. In 2014 she suffered a broken hip; in 2020 she was hospitalised for almost a month with pneumonia after testing positive for Covid. She later said she thought she may never be able to sign again due to the effects of Covid on her lungs.

Faithfull is survived by her partner, French record producer François Ravard, and son Nicholas Dunbar.

Originally published as Rock legend Marianne Faithfull dead at 78