Marianne Faithfull

Now when I was a schoolboy at the time of the Crusades, this woman was the epitome of S-E-X, famous for a wanton version of As Tears Go By, and for alleged outrageous use of a mars bar at a Mick Jagger party (constantly denied by her)

After being forgotten for quite a few years, she was resurrected as a singer with character, her torch songs laced with the awareness of mortality and the sad resignation of experience which goes with increasing age for some.

Her new album, Negative Capability, came out this Friday just gone, with strong reviews describing it as her best. Nick Cave worked on it, along with others. I’ve not listened to most of it, but the cover version of Bob Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue is very impressive.