Thursday, April 3, 2008

Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By (Hullabaloo London 1965)




Since my friends Fred and Frank have put up videos of classic Sixties rock I thought I'd join the group and add this gem to the list. It's Marianne Faithfull's early take on the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards' song which she is often identified with. She of course has gone through a lot of stages since then, and her later renditions of this song are more soulful, downbeat, but with a quality of assurance, as maturity brings to some, that wasn't there before.

This clip also features the soon-to-be-late Brian Epstein, The Beatles manager, doing the interview with Marianne. One biographer of the group noted that Epstein pined to be a big public celebrity in his own right, a sort-of fifth Beatle. That probably explains his appearence on the show.

10 comments:

  1. She looks a little uncomfortable...classic tune though. I once saw a clip where Mick said he wrote the lyrics for a woman...as I recall

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw an interview with her--I think on "60 Minutes"-- where she admitted being very frightened at first by singing, and she felt out of her depth by the lyrics to the song. (No wonder--she's so young!) In this version she's actually slightly more "relaxed" than the one they showed Ms. Faithfull in from about the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love Marianne Faithfull's voice and this song, but I have never seen her perform before at any age lol. Thank you for this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw Marianne Faithfull at the Birmingham Hippodrome about that time on one those multi artist line ups that would in those days include Jimi Hendrix and Tom Jones on the same bill. They ended when the club scene expanded and festivals started around 67 I'd guess. Anyway thanks for posting this reminder of my boyhood and sadly unrequited love affair with Marianne who I am still a fan of. Your post has inspired me to see if I can find another video of this past treasure and living relic of the erstwhile swinging London.

    ReplyDelete
  5. And find a very good one you did, AA. I do envy you having had the chance to see her in person. How a guy could manage not to fall for her escapes me. I think the first time I saw her in anything was as Ophelia in the film version of "Hamlet" by Tony Richardson.
    A friend told me she "used to be Mick Jagger's girlfriend" without even mentioning the fact that she had her own singing career!

    Irian--Her voice has certainly taken on a distinctive quality. I've heard her doing "As Tears Go By" on a concert album from the 90's, and of course it conveys a different message altogether.

    ReplyDelete
  6. /thanks so much for sharing! Loved it--but she does look a little awkward, i agree--love the classic old videos--don't you?? Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I know the song it was a little before my time. I still enjoyed the video.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fred--"Hullabullo" was a little before my time, too. I wish we still had shows like this in prime time, as opposed to the "American Idol" variety, where judges get to make snarky comments on people's performances. That gets old for me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I cannot tolerate the criticism on Idol--it's very sad--at least the ones who leave sometimes get contracts...simon ought to be b**tch slapped--and Paula too--Randy isn't so bad--he at least had a career! LOL

    ReplyDelete