Off The Beaten Track Interviews:

Marianne Faithfull’s interview for Off The Beaten Track was certainly one of the high water marks in the entire run of the show. Marianne wasn't known for granting many interviews, especially detailed one on one interviews, partly because she is painfully shy, and partly because she was largely savaged by the press in the 1960s and 1970s. It’s one of the primary reasons she disappeared for so long. She had no real sense of self-worth. She was portrayed as an appendage to her famous boyfriend, Mick Jagger. The sordid details described her as a self-destructive hell-raiser, a poster girl for the sex, drugs, rock ’n roll lifestyle of that era. 

After years in a self-imposed exile, she plotted her return into the world of recording. After a one-off album venture with Nems called Faithless, a collection of country tunes that yielded a surprise hit single in Ireland, Faithfull worked up a couple of tunes in a studio. She recorded a cover of John Lennon’s Working Class Hero and her own, self-penned Why D’ya Do It. She chose to present these two tracks to Chris Blackwell, president of Island Records. She’d known him since she was 17 and had a hunch he’d go for two bold, “right out there” tracks and take on the project that would come to be known as Broken English. She was absolutely right. The vehicle that would launch the worldwide resurgence of Marianne Faithfull as a major artist, now had the considerable resources of Island Records and, perhaps more importantly, the personal belief of Chris Blackwell behind it. Grammy nominated Broken English is often cited as the best album Marianne Faithfull ever made. It was the highest of high profile returns. Marianne Faithfull was back!

Michael’s Off The Beaten Track interview coincided with Faithfull’s Strange Weather album. It was Marianne’s first venture into classic blues covers, a favorite musical form for her. She’d earned her keep and then some at Island, and this project was Blackwell’s way of saying thank you, here’s the green light on a project that you’ve wanted to do for a long time. Make it your own way. 

When Michael called Island to inquire, he knew getting an interview with Marianne Faithfull would probably not happen. He pleaded his case and also happened to mention his birthday was coming up and he would consider the gift of a Marianne Faithfull interview as the best possible birthday gift he could hope for. Whatever the actual reason, Marianne Faithfull agreed to the interview, but had some conditions. At this point in her life, she was living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. What Michael did not know at the time is that Marianne was living in Cambridge to attend a noted rehab clinic as she worked to stay clean. She was housed in a hotel. She did not want to do the interview at her place, just for her own privacy and safety. If Michael could come up with a suitable venue, she would meet him there and sit for an interview. Michael chose the Hyatt-Regency/Cambridge, booked a small conference room and proposed they meet there on his 34th birthday, July 29, 1987. Happy birthday, Michael!

Things never go quite the way they should. Michael got caught up in a traffic jam on the I-93 bridge coming into Boston. As a result, he was 10 minutes late to the interview. Marianne was waiting nervously but patiently in the hotel lobby and seemed relieved that Michael had arrived. Apologizing profusely, Michael took Marianne to the front counter to inquire about directions to the conference room. They were handed a room key for the 3rd floor! Michael turned to Marianne and said, “There must be some mistake, I booked a conference room.” Marianne graciously responded, Let's just go to the 3rd floor and use the room.” 

So up they went. When they got to the room, ready to put the key in the slot, they both stopped. Loud voices were coming from inside the room! Two people were having a spirited discussion about something. Michael knocked. No response. The exchange inside continued. Michael knocked again, still no response, so he put the key in the slot, turned to Marianne and said, “Here we go!”

Turns out, whoever used the room last had left the radio on, loudly blasting a talk radio exchange. Whew! Marianne quickly made it clear that she had really committed to doing this interview. She was relatively relaxed, settled in quickly and spent the next 48 minutes discussing her life, warts and all. It was amazing how open she was. Take a listen, you’ll hear.

There is a rumor attached to this interview that we were never able to confirm, but it is likely to be true based on the players involved. Marianne Faithfull was good friends with Lou Reed. In the time it took to get all the pieces of this interview to align, it is rumored that Marianne told Lou Reed about the request. Reportedly, Lou Reed recommended that she do the interview, because he thought Off The Beaten Track was a good show. But, how did he know that; where, exactly, had he heard it? Lou Reed was signed to RCA Records during this time. Michael had a great relationship with RCA publicity through his contacts, notably Barbara Pepe and Deborah Radel. Michael sent Off The Beaten Track demo tapes to RCA regularly. Michael was told anecdotally that Lou Reed would stop by RCA in New York occasionally, and on one such visit saw one of the tapes and asked if he could take it home...no problem, take it. Lou ended up ‘borrowing’ a few Off The Beaten Track tapes. Reportedly, he liked the show. Ironically, Michael tried several times to get Lou Reed on the show. Lou never agreed to do an interview, but might have been instrumental in helping Michael get his Marianne Faithfull interview. Go figure.

Marianne Faithfull passed on January 30, 2025 in London. She was 78 years old. The body of work she left for us is considerable and important art.

This interview was conducted on July 29, 1987 at the Hyatt-Regency, Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The interview was coordinated by the publicity crew at Island Records in New York City, which included Kathy Kenyon and Stephanie Seymour.

Julia Fordham profile coming soon. Recorded in the upstairs green room at The Paradise in Boston on October 18, 1988. The interview was coordinated by Ellen Bellow of IM-PRESS Public Relations on behalf of Circa-Virgin Records USA.