Nick Cave has said that the death of Marianne Faithfull at the age of 78 means a loss of “not just a fiercely unique talent, but the stored knowledge of a generation”.
Tributes have come flooding in for the singer, including from her former partner Sir Mick Jagger, his fellow Rolling Stones bandmates Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards, and Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney.
In a statement to the PA news agency, Cave said on Friday: “A wild woman, bold, brilliant and beautiful. We have lost not just a fiercely unique talent, but the stored knowledge of a generation.
“Through her extraordinary, defiant and lived-in voice, Marianne brought her own maverick truth to every song she sang, and every story she spoke. We loved her very much.”
Faithfull released As Tears Go By, a top 10 hit in the UK, in 1964.
In addition to her music career, Faithfull also acted in films including The Girl On A Motorcycle with French actor Alain Delon, as well as theatre productions.
Her final album was an experimental collaboration with Cave And The Bad Seeds’ Australian multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, called She Walks In Beauty (2021).
Ellis told PA: “I thought you’d bury us all gorgeous. You were revolutionary. I love you Marianne.”
Sir Mick, 81, who was in a relationship with Faithfull from 1966 to 1970 following his split from model and actress Chrissie Shrimpton, wrote: “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.”
Bianca Jagger, who was married to Sir Mick from 1971 until 1978, shared her own condolences online, writing on Instagram that Faithfull will be “greatly missed”.
“What sad news that Marianne Faithfull has passed away,” he said.
“She came into my life in the Sixties and was a beautiful, sweet 17 year old who radiated innocent joy.
“Then through the years I was lucky enough to run into her and to become a life-long friend.
“It’s very sad to think that I won’t be meeting her again but my memories of our encounters over the years will always bring me joy.
“May god bless you Marianne and guide you in the next steps of your journey – Paul.”
A slew of other celebrities and musicians took to social media to bid farewell to the singer including Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, English actor James Dreyfuss, Irish actor and The Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jurassic Park star Sam Neill and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.
After being discovered by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham in the 1960s, Faithfull released her self-titled debut album in 1965, which featured top 10 hits As Tears Go By and Come And Stay With Me, at the same time as follow-up LP Come My Way, which was largely made up of folk covers.
Her first hit, As Tears Go By, written by Sir Mick and Richards, charted at number nine, and was followed by a series of successful singles including This Little Bird, a cover of The Beatles’ Yesterday and Summer Nights.
The singer was famously found wearing nothing but a rug at a drugs bust at Redlands, the country house of Rolling Stones guitarist Richards in 1967.
Faithfull co-wrote Sister Morphine with Sir Mick and Richards from the Rolling Stones’ 1971 album Sticky Fingers, releasing her own version in 1969 featuring guitarist Ry Cooder and Jack Nitzsche on piano.
She was credited as a writer on the initial Decca release of her own version, but omitted from later releases, prompting a legal dispute which eventually saw her credited on both the Stones and her own reissues.
It has also been claimed that Faithfull inspired Stones songs including You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Dear Doctor, while it has also been reported that The Beatles’ And Your Bird Can Sing was inspired by her and Sir Mick’s relationship.
Following her split with Sir Mick, Faithfull spent two years on the streets of Soho while addicted to heroin before living in a squat.
She returned to release the new wave-influenced album Broken English in 1979, which is now regarded as a classic.
The singer also performed a duet of Sonny And Cher’s I Got You Babe with David Bowie on his The 1980 Floor Show, which was broadcast in the US in 1973 and saw Faithfull dressed as a nun.
Faithfull re-invented herself in 1987 as a jazz and blues singer with the critically acclaimed Strange Weather, and in the same decade went into rehab.
She also contributed vocals to the song The Memory Remains from heavy metal band Metallica’s 1997 album, Reload. She then enjoyed a resurgence, and was said to be admired by the likes of Kate Moss and Courtney Love.
In 2006, it was announced that she had made a full recovery from breast cancer.
The daughter of a British military officer and an Austro-Hungarian Jewish baroness, Faithfull recently appeared in Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette, and was in 2012 romance film A Grand Affair with Myers.
A statement from the singer’s family announcing her death on Thursday said: “Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family.
“She will be dearly missed.”
