Tributes have come flooding in for the singer, including from her former partner Sir Mick Jagger, and his fellow Rolling Stones bandmates Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards.
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.”
The collaboration with Nick Cave
Marianne Faithfull described the collaboration with Nick Cave this way: «It was a small miracle. I had asked Nick to give his musical contribution to the song, but he told me he was too busy. I told him that I understood and that I was sorry to have bothered him. After a while, he wrote to me 'Thank you for understanding. Here's your song." It was really wonderful."
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”.
