Marianne Faithfull, the singer, songwriter and actress whose 1964 recording of “As Tears Go By” brought her early fame, died in London on January 30, 2025, at age 78. Her career continued for six decades, reaching a striking new phase with the 1979 album Broken English and a wide-ranging body of later recordings and acting work.
Who was the singer of “As Tears Go By”?
Marianne Faithfull recorded “As Tears Go By” in 1964. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song, and BMG describes Faithfull’s version as a UK Top 5 single. It made her a prominent young pop singer, but it was the beginning—not the sum—of her musical career. BMG’s obituary and The Guardian’s obituary trace the longer arc.
Faithfull later described the song as “a commercial fantasy that pushes all the right buttons,” according to The Washington Post’s obituary. That early hit is a useful starting point for listening, but it can obscure the choices and reinventions that followed.
How did Marianne Faithfull’s career change after the 1960s?
From early pop success to Broken English
Faithfull was born in Hampstead in December 1946. After her 1960s breakthrough, she returned with Broken English in 1979, a raw, forceful album that marked a major artistic reinvention. The Irish Times describes it as her Grammy-nominated comeback. For listeners who want to hear the contrast between her early pop image and the later artist, it is a strong first full-album entry point. The Irish Times obituary discusses the album and her subsequent work.
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Later recordings and changing styles
Faithfull continued to record across later decades, exploring covers, collaborations and markedly different musical settings. Strange Weather included a new version of “As Tears Go By”; later releases named by BMG include Negative Capability (2018), She Walks in Beauty (2021), and the live collection The Montreux Years (2021). These make useful listening paths rather than a definitive ranking: choose Strange Weather for reinterpretation, the later studio albums for her evolving recorded work, or The Montreux Years for a live format. BMG’s obituary and catalogue overview identify these releases.
The Guardian’s obituary counts 22 solo albums and characterizes her career as spanning six decades. Album totals can vary depending on what a count includes, so the figure is best understood as the Guardian’s count, not a universally settled discography total.
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Why is “Sister Morphine” important to her songwriting story?
Faithfull was not only a performer of songs written by others. She co-wrote “Sister Morphine,” recorded with Jagger, Richards and Ry Cooder. The Irish Times reports that her writing credit was omitted from the Rolling Stones’ recording until she won a protracted legal battle. The dispute matters because it concerns attribution for her work, not simply her proximity to the band. The Irish Times recounts the credit history.
What was her work beyond music?
Faithfull also pursued acting in theatre and film. Her official biography identifies stage work in The Three Sisters and Hamlet, as well as the film The Girl on a Motorcycle. That parallel career is part of the picture of an artist whose public identity extended well beyond a single hit or a 1960s pop narrative. Her official biography lists these credits.
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Which Marianne Faithfull album should you start with?
There is no objective “best” album established by these sources; the right entry point depends on what you want to hear.
- For the breakthrough: start with “As Tears Go By” and her early recordings to hear the pop success that introduced her to a broad audience.
- For the reinvention: choose Broken English (1979), the clearest entry to her rawer later style.
- For reinterpretation and later collaborations: explore Strange Weather, Negative Capability or She Walks in Beauty.
- For a live set: try The Montreux Years.
What is known about her death?
Faithfull’s representative announced her death in London on January 30, 2025, at age 78. The announcement confirmed her death and age; the sources cited here do not establish a cause of death. The representative’s statement, reproduced in the official announcement, called her a “singer, songwriter and actress.”
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Her own account of her life
Faithfull’s autobiographical books provide first-person context for her life and career. The Guardian and Washington Post obituaries discuss her memoirs; readers should distinguish the titles and editions when looking for a particular account rather than treating all autobiographical writing as one book. The Guardian and The Washington Post offer obituary context.
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