Faithfull: An Autobiography

by Marianne Faithfull and David Dalton

Book Overview

Marianne Faithfull debuted on the sixties London pop scene with her 1964 hit As Tears Go By. Wooed by many, she was Mick Jagger's lover who lived her life on the cutting edge until she succumbed to much darker habits. Returning triumphantly from addiction and homelessness to singing, songwriting and acting. Faithfull never fails to maintain the creed never apologize, never explain.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316273244
• ISBN13: 9780316273244
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Could not put it down-

This is a well written, full blown account of a life lived in the 60's, 70's 80's and beyond. I re read it many times

Worst book I ever read.

To read a book about a pop star who willfully destroyed her life with drugs and then write a book telling about it is appalling. I grew up in the 60s and was well aware of the drug culture but her book appears to brag about her own self destruction. I threw this book in the trash after I read it. Gag me!!!

Brazen, Revealing,Honest and Interesting

This book finds her at ease and at peace with her past. intriguing. She is very candid here. Admitting to numerous mistakes, her faults and endless regrets.(even mentioning some episodes of temporary lunacy)and drug problems. Almost like reading one's personal diary It's also very comical at times. It is great in that nothing is too taboo to be included in these writings. I read the original when it came out more than a decade ago. I must have been impressed as I remember it very well. It's too bad my copy didn't have that lovely picture on the cover.

Great Book

Marianne lifts another corner of the veil that romanticizing the sixties, and the Stones, has draped over the history and shenanigans of this Great Band. She also has a LOT to tell about other artists, and goings-on. On top of that, she is a keen observer and a witty writer. I've read a lot about the Stones and their contemporaries, and Marianne's book blew me away. If you buy just one, buy this and of course Stanley Booth's great book! Umm...

" A 'Faithfull' look at the era of the British Invasion"

Marianne's Auto/Bio is an absolutely fantastic read. Always thought of her as Mick's Girl Friend. Didn't know that "As Tears Go Buy" was written for her, by Mick and Keith, before she was involved with Mick. In a "Season in Hell" it says that "Faithfull" is the best book written on the Stones. I have no reason to disagree with that statement. ALSO a great description of Dylan, from the "Don't look Back" period. This book is as easy to read as non-fiction. It is a ride through a remarkable era of recent History. I'd like to correct an error that I have never seen addressed before. "Sympathy for the Devil" was the Opening Track on "Beggars Banquet". It was NOT on the "Let it Bleed " Album.

Life lived to the full

This riveting biography charts Marianne Faithfull's life from her earliest childhood dream to 1994. Along the way, it also serves as a captivating cultural history of swinging London in the 1960s and the music world in subsequent decades. Marianne describes her family background, dispelling many myths along the way, and provides an interesting account of how she entered the music business. The recollections of touring with the popular bands of the time are interesting, as is the way she entered the Rolling Stones circle. Her first humorous encounter with Bob Dylan and his entourage was so different from a much later meeting in the 1980s when she explained every song on Broken English to an admiring and enquiring Dylan. The glimpses into the interpersonal relations of the Stones are enlightening and poignant, specially the way she describes the decline of the ill-fated Brian Jones. She talks matter of factly about her relationship with Mick Jagger and the notoriety she gained with various drug busts. Faithfull doesn't spare the reader any of the detail of her long relationship with a breathtaking variety of drugs, but the most interesting parts are when she relates particular events and circumstances to specific compositions by Jagger and by herself. She discusses all the anarchy and hedonism of the times with a detached air, observing that her generation wanted to see change everywhere, but none of them could quite figure it out and it all ended up as wretched excess. She talks at length about the movie Performance and about her song Sister Morphine. The saddest part is when she spent about 2 years of her life sitting on a wall in Soho, completely spaced out, and she mentions how kindly people treated her. The making of her country album Faithless, a big hit in Ireland, is described in detail, as well as her big comeback with Broken English in 1979. I really enjoyed her encounters with various musicians, like the tragic Tim Hardin who co-wrote the song Brain Drain on Broken English with Ben Brierly. There's even an interesting snippet about Cristina Monet, wife of Ze Records founder Michael Zilkha. Why'd Ya Do It, one of the most controversial songs on the Broken English album, was written by poet Heathcote Williams. Marianne had to beg him for hours to allow her to record it, as he wanted Tina Turner to do it! There is no bitterness in any of Faithfull's writing, but lots of humour and witty observations. She is full of praise for musicians like Barry Reynolds and Van Morrison with whom she has worked. As a great fan of hers and The Stones, I am truly relieved that there were no life threatening sexually transmitted diseases in the 1960s and 1970s because then a whole generation of musicians would have been lost, what with all the intercourse between everybody so vividly recalled by Marianne. This book confirms why Faithfull is a true survivor and has developed into an original artist with growing stature. The text is thoroughly enga