British singer and actress Marianne Faithfull, who died at the age of 78, had deep connections to France and particularly Paris – where she had lived for over two decades.
Faithfull, who inspired the Rolling Stones to compose the iconic "As Tears Go By" in 1964, moved to the French capital in the 1990s.
She was a vocal fan of Édith Piaf and Juliette Gréco.
Faithfull was managed by François Ravard, who later became her partner. He produced her live album "20th Century Blues", recorded at the New Morning club in Paris in 1997.
By the 2000s, she had settled in the first arrondissement, near the chic rue Saint-Honoré. About 10 years later, she moved to the Left Bank, living in Montparnasse.
'Music saved my life'
Faithfull endured many health struggles, including alcoholism, drug addiction, hepatitis and breast cancer. In a 2011 interview with RFI’s Imogen Lamb, she reflected on the role of music in her life:
"[Music] really saved my life. I always thought it might. I had great faith in that."
"I often think that it’s the vibrations in the sound that are so healing [...] Certain chords are very healing. I know that."
Tears gone by as Marianne Faithfull tours again
Speaking about "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan", the hit from her album "Broken English", which marked her comeback in 1979, she said: "It’s a song written by Shel Silverstein. He can write beautifully about women and what they’re feeling and thinking and the situation they’re in."
Faithfull could identify with Lucy Jordan.
"I know I’m not a housewife in a white suburb somewhere, cleaning the house all day... I never was. But I do understand Lucy Jordan and I put my heart into it," she said.
'I ended up in this life by mistake'
In 2016, French news agency AFP interviewed Faithfull after she recounted her life in the documentary Marianne Faithfull, Fleur d'âme, directed by French actress Sandrine Bonnaire. The film won awards at the Biarritz Audiovisual Festival in 2018.
"I always tell myself I ended up in this life by mistake because of Andrew [Loog Oldham] and the fascination with the Rolling Stones," Faithfull said.
In this interview, she also talked about "They Come at Night", inspired by the 13 November, 2015 Paris attacks: "I was at home, so shocked that I had to write a text immediately."
Yet, she would perform at the Bataclan on 24 November, 2016.
In 2020, after recovering from a severe case of Covid, Marianne Faithfull crossed the Channel back to London.
