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Marianne Faithfull (born 29 December 1946 ) is an English Singer and Actress whose career spans over four decades. Faithfull's early work in pop and rock music was overshadowed by her struggle with Drug Abuse in the 1970s. After a long commercial absence during which only two additional albums were produced, she returned in late 1979 with the landmark album, '' Broken English ''. With a recording career that spans over four decades, Faithfull has continually reinvented her musical persona, experimenting in vastly different musical genres and collaborating with such varied artists as David Bowie , Jarvis Cocker , Beck , Sly And Robbie , The Chieftains , Tom Waits , Lenny Kaye , PJ Harvey , Nick Cave , Rupert Hine , Metallica and Roger Waters . Faithfull's subsequent solo work, often critically acclaimed, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history. EARLY LIFE Born Marian Evelyn FaithfullConfirmed by Faithfull's agent Sara Bessadi on 15 Dec 2006. More on it in "Discussion". in Hampstead , London , her parents were British Military officer and college professor Major Robert Glynn Faithfull and the Baroness Eva Erisso , originally from Vienna and of partial Jewish descent, with noble roots from the Habsburg Dynasty . Eva was a ballerina during her early years and worked with the German theatrical duo Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill . Faithfull's great-great-uncle on her mother's side of the family is Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch , the infamous 19th century Austrian nobleman whose erotic novel, '' Venus In Furs '', spawned the word " Masochism ". The Times 1999 interview: "Sex God? Marianne's last word" After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Reading, Berkshire . As a teenager, she attended St Joseph's Convent School there and was a member of the Progress Theatre student group. MUSIC CAREER AND PERSONAL LIFE 1960s Faithfull began her singing career in 1964, landing her first gigs as a Folk Music performer in coffeehouses. Faithfull was discovered at a Rolling Stones ' launch party by pop music producer Andrew Loog Oldham . Her first major release, " As Tears Go By ", was penned by Oldham, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards , and became a chart success. She then released a series of successful singles, including "This Little Bird", "Summer Nights" and "Come and Stay With Me". Faithfull married artist John Dunbar in 1965. That same year, she gave birth to their son, Nicholas. The marriage was short-lived, principally owing to Dunbar's Heroin addiction. Faithfull fled from the home she had shared with Dunbar and took their son to stay with Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg in London . During that time period, Faithfull started using Marijuana and became best friends with Pallenberg. She also began a much publicized relationship with Mick Jagger . The relationship with Jagger lasted throughout the late 1960s, and the couple became notorious. She was found by British police while on a drug search at Keith Richards ' house in Redlands , while wearing only a fur coat. In 1968 Faithfull, by now addicted to Cocaine , miscarried a daughter (whom she had named Corrina) while retreating to Jagger's country house in Ireland . Faithfull's involvement in Jagger's life would be reflected in some of the Rolling Stones' best-known songs. "" ("wild horses couldn't drag me away") is said to be based on a phrase Faithfull uttered after coming out of a coma after an Overdose , while Faithfull herself wrote " Sister Morphine ". (The writing credit for the song was the subject of a protracted legal battle; the resolution of the case has Faithfull listed as co-author of the song.) In her autobiography, Faithfull said Mick Jagger and Keith Richards released it in their own names in order that her agent did not collect (all) the royalties and proceeds from the song, especially as she was homeless and battling with heroin addiction at the time. 1970s Faithfull dissolved her relationship with Jagger in 1970, and lost custody of her son in that same year. Her personal life went into decline, and her career went into a tailspin. She only made a few appearances, including a notorious 1973 performance at NBC with David Bowie , singing Sonny And Cher 's song "I Got You Babe" dressed as a nun. Faithfull lived on London's found her on the streets and made an attempt to revive her career, producing part of her album ''Rich Kid Blues''. The album would be shelved until 1985. Severe laryngitis coupled with persistent cocaine abuse during this period permanently altered the sound of Faithfull's voice, leaving it cracked and lower in pitch. While the new sound was praised as "whiskey-soaked" by some critics, journalist John Jones of the (London) Sunday Times wrote that she had "permanently vulgarized her voice". Faithfull moved into a squat without hot water or electricity in Chelsea with her then-boyfriend Ben Brierly, of Punk band The Vibrators . In 1977 she released the Country -influenced record ''Dreaming my Dreams'', which reached the top of the Irish Albums Chart . Faithfull's career returned full force in 1979 (the same year she was arrested for marijuana possession in Norway ) with the album '' Broken English '', one of her most critically hailed album releases. The album was partially influenced by the punk explosion and on her marriage to Brierly in the same year. In addition to the punk-pop sounds of the title track (which addressed Terrorism in Europe, being dedicated to Ulrike Meinhof ), the album also included "Why D'Ya Do It", a punk- Reggae song with aggressive lyrics adapted from a poem by Heathcote Williams . The New York Times 1981 article: "The Pop Life" ''Broken English'' also revealed an astonishing change to Faithfull's singing voice. The melodic vocals on her early records were replaced with a raucous, deep voice, affected by years of smoking, drinking and drug use. 1980s Faithfull lived in ''. The song, with lyrics by Faithfull set to Angelo Badalamenti 's melody and production, has since been occasionally identified with the September 11, 2001 Attacks and used both in various media essays and as an accompaniment to photo and video montages of those events. In 1985 she performed "Ballad of the Soldier's Wife" on ''. Faithfull's restrained readings lent themselves to the material, and this collaboration informed several subsequent works. In 1987, Faithfull again reinvented herself, this time as a Jazz and Blues singer, on the record ''Strange Weather'', also produced by Willner. The album became her most critically lauded album of the decade. In 1988, the singer married writer and actor Giorgio Della Terza ; the couple divorced in 1991. 1990s When Roger Waters assembled an all-star cast of musicians to perform the Rock Opera '' The Wall '' live in Berlin in July 1990, Faithfull played the part of Pink's over-protective mother. Her musical career rebounded for the third time during the early 1990s with the live album ''Blazing Away,'' which featured Faithfull revisiting songs she'd performed over the course of her career. As her fascination with the music of Weimar -era Germany continued, she released a recording of ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' and performed in '' The Threepenny Opera ''. Her interpretation of the music of this era has been critically acclaimed and led to a new album, ''Twentieth Century Blues'', which focused on the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht , and a successful concert and cabaret tour. In 1994 she published her autobiography, entitled ''Faithfull'', in which she discussed her life, career, drug addictions, and Bisexuality . The next year she recorded ''A Secret Life'', with songs written with Angelo Badalamenti . Faithfull also sang backup vocals on Metallica's song " The Memory Remains " from their 1997 album '' ReLoad '' and appeared in the song's Music Video ; the track reached #28 in the U.S. (#3 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart) and #13 in the U.K. In 1998 she released ''A Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology'', a two-disc compilation that chronicled her years with Island Records. It featured tracks from her albums ''Broken English'', ''Dangerous Acquaintances'', ''A Child's Adventure'', ''Strange Weather'', ''Blazing Away'', and ''A Secret Life'', as well as several B-sides and unreleased tracks. Faithfull's 1999 DVD ''Dreaming My Dreams'' contains material about her childhood and parents, with historical video footage going back to 1964 and interviews with the artist and several friends who have known her since childhood. The documentary includes sections on her relationship with John Dunbar and Mick Jagger , and brief interviews with Keith Richards . The DVD concludes with a 30-minute live concert. 2000s Faithfull has been a prolific artist in the new century, releasing several albums that have received positive critical response. In 2000, she released '' Vagabond Ways '' which many critics hailed as her finest album since ''Broken English''. It included collaborations with Daniel Lanois , Emmylou Harris , Pink Floyd 's Roger Waters , and writer (and friend) Frank McGuiness . Later that year she sang "Love Got Lost" on Joe Jackson's ''Night and Day II'' album. Her renaissance continued with '' Kissin' Time '', released in 2002. The album contained songs written with Beck , Billy Corgan , Jarvis Cocker , Dave Stewart , David Courts, and the French pop singer Étienne Daho . On this record, she paid tribute to Nico (with "Song for Nico"), whose work she admired. The album also included an Autobiographical song she co-wrote with Cocker, called "Sliding Through Life on Charm". In 2005, she released '' Before The Poison ''. The album was primarily a collaboration with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave , though Damon Albarn and Jon Brion also contributed. Once again critics hailed it as one of her best albums since ''Broken English'' 26 years earlier. In 2005, André Schneider performed a cover version of her song "The Hawk", and she recorded (and co-produced) "Lola R Forever", a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg song "Lola Rastaquouere" with Sly & Robbie for the tribute album ''Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited''. In 2007 Faithfull collaborated with the British singer/songwriter, Patrick Wolf on the duet "Magpie" from his third album ''The Magic Position'' and wrote and recorded a new song for the French film ''Truands'' called "A Lean and Hungry Look" with Ulysse. Later this year Marianne will release a second volume of autobiography called ''Memories, Dreams and Reflections''. The book, to be published by Fourth Estate, is a more personal history than ''Faithfull''. Faithfull currently resides in 2006 . In March 2007 she returned to the stage with a touring show entitled ''Songs of Innocence and Experience''. Supported by a trio, the performance had a semi-acoustic feel and toured European theatres throughout the spring and summer. The show featured many songs she had not performed live before including "Something Better", the song she sang on the Rolling Stones ' Rock & Roll Circus. The show also included the Harry Nillson song "Don't Forget Me" which features the line "When we're old and full of cancer, it doesn't matter now, come on, get happy" seen as a celebration of her surviving the disease. Recent articles hint Faithfull is looking into retirement, in hopes money from ''Songs of the Innocence and Experience'', will enable her to live in comfort. The 60-year-old says: ''“I’m not prepared to be 70 and absolutely broke. I realized last year that I have no safety net at all and I’m going to have to get one. So I need to change my attitude to life, which means I have to put away 10 per cent every year of my old age. I want to be in a position where I don’t have to work. I should have thought about this a long time ago but I didn’t.”'' {Link without Title} ACTING CAREER In addition to her music career, Faithfull has had a modestly successful career as an actress in theater, television and film. Her first theater appearance was in a 1965 stage adaptation of " and " Naked Under Leather ") opposite Alain Delon , and in the 1969 Kenneth Anger cult film '' Lucifer Rising ''. In 1969, Faithfull played Ophelia opposite Nicol Williamson 's '' Hamlet '', directed by Tony Richardson and featuring Anthony Hopkins as Claudius. In 1993, she played the role of Pirate Jenny in '' 2007 . She has played both God and the Devil. She appeared as God in three guest appearances in the British sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous '' opposite friend Jennifer Saunders . In 2004 and 2005, she played the Devil in William Burroughs ' and Tom Waits ' musical, '' The Black Rider '', directed by Robert Wilson . DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Marianne Faithfull Discography FILMOGRAPHY
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