Marianne Faithful was far more than the one-time girlfriend of Mick Jagger. Indeed, this idea of muse or eye candy or in any way playing second fiddle to the men of the Sixties who took all the plaudits, was something which she fought against, or rather time and again made ridiculous, throughout her life and work. She released album after album - including the classic Broken English in 1979 - acted on stage in everything from Hamlet to The Threepenny Opera, and in films by the likes of Jean-Luc Godard and Kenneth Anger, wrote one of the greatest memoirs - Faithfull: An Autobiography - and was someone who shaped the cultural world well beyond the Sixties. Icon is a much over-used word, but she was one.
And one other way in which she took on and beat the world, was through her sheer wit and wisdom. Here are some of her greatest quotes. Because nobody had to speak for Marianne:. On her attitude:. On songwriting:. On protecting herself:. On the dark periods:. On knowing herself:. On being more than just Jagger’s girl:. On narcissism:. On being moulded into a pop singer:. On learning her craft:. On early hit single As Tears Go By and what she did for Mick:.
