Marianne Faithfull battled labels all her life
The singer and icon of the 1960s died on January 30th, aged 78
Free love. Psychedelic drugs. Embroidered Moroccan cushions. Nietzsche. Zen. Tribal trinkets. Customised existentialism. Ossie Clark dresses with knee-high boots. (Later, it was all ruffled blouses and cloaks from the Antique Market). Chat-up lines such as “Have you read ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’?” Or, when she first slept with Mick Jagger, a deep discussion of the Holy Grail. All these things summed up the 1960s for Marianne Faithfull. But most of all, she would remember with her still-bright smile, “how beautiful everyone was”.
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This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Marianne Faithfull”
Obituary
February 8th 2025
From the February 8th 2025 edition
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