IT WAS MICK JAGGER THE WHOLE TIME.
No, not really. Mick Jagger was only Marianne Faithfull’s first major boyfriend, back in the 1960s. After they broke up, she dated other people (obviously), and one of the boyfriends was some shady heroin dealer named Jean de Breteuil. Apparently, Jean dealt heroin to all of the rock stars in Europe those days (the late ‘60s and early ‘70s). And Jean probably dealt to Jim Morrison. So… did Jean de Breteuil sell Jim Morrison the fatal dose, the dose that Jim overdosed on in 1971? Marianne Faithfull thinks so. Vintage rock n’ roll scandal!
Jim Morrison’s lonely death in a Paris bathtub in 1971 is one of rock’s greatest obsessed-over mysteries. Multiple conspiracy theories abound, mostly surrounding the actual location of The Doors frontman’s fatal overdose, but someone close to the source – as it were – has emerged with new details about the Lizard King’s demise.
Singer/songwriter and famous ex of Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, recently gave an interview to Mojo in which she confessed to apparent knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Morrison’s death.
Faithfull said that she was dating a heroin dealer named Jean de Breteuil at the time, and told the magazine, “I could intuitively feel trouble,” when de Breteuil told her he was going to visit Morrison. “I thought, I’ll take a few Tuinal [barbiturates] and I won’t be there.”
“And [de Breteuil] went to see Jim Morrison and killed him,” Faithfull continued. “I mean, I’m sure it was an accident. Poor bastard. The smack was too strong. Yeah, and he died. I didn’t know anything about this. Anyway, everybody connected to the death of this poor guy is dead now, except me.”
Faithfull has a new record, Give My Love to London, coming out in September. The record features collaborations with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, Nick Cave and Steve Earle, among others. A book of photos from her life, Marianne Faithfull: A Life on Record, will follow in October.
I was never one of those Doors-obsessed people or Jim Morrison-obsessives, but from what I remember of Morrison’s life, he over-consumed everything. He was a terrible alcohol and drug abuser (and he loved food too). I’ve always believed that Morrison mostly drank himself to an early death, but I’m not sure that’s ever been verified by physical evidence. If he was a heroin user (which probably isn’t a big IF), surely they found track marks? According to The Daily Mail, Jean died a few months later in 1971, also of a drug overdose.
I know it’s gruesome to admit this, but I love these kinds of vintage scandal stories, like “Oh, Marianne Faithfull’s drug dealer boyfriend gave this famous rock star a fatal dose of smack in 1971!” It’s amazing how these people were interconnected back then.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I was one of those Morrison-obsessed young women and I read a lot of books about him and the Doors and to be honest, I doubt that he would have lived much longer. He’d put on a lot of weight, was drinking heavily and doing drugs and was generally just not in great shape. It’s the same old “rock star dies young” story, isn’t it? Sad to say.
Yes I agree,
I also believe that many of the other stars who died so young ( Amy Winehouse, River Phoenix, Jimi Hendrix, only to name a few) would have not lived much longer either.
Jim Morrison killed Jim Morrison. He made a choice and suffered the consequences. End of.
Yup, exactly. It doen’t matter who he got the drugs from. He was hell bent on self destruction.
Can’t wait to hear her new album.
I love these ancient scandals. It amazes me to think that these people are (or would be) well into their 60s and 70s now. Those naked, crazy hippies at Woodstock are senior citizens now, which is mindblowing.
Unfortunately, some of them have stayed virtually naked. I have had the misfortune of seeing some of these cooler-than-thou seniors practicing Tai Chi in nothing but a Speedo at my local gym.
Oh NOES! You had to see OLD PEOPLE!? QUELLE HORREUR!!!!
What a drag it is, getting old.
Excellent quote there!
I used to have your mind-set @mystified about “seniors” (and I’m presuming you’re young).
Just wait until your body starts getting weary and not cooperating. And when that happens, make sure you make those same remarks and facial expressions you’re currently throwing around.
What goes around, comes around baby!
Someday you will be there, and I hope people laugh at you.
@Bondbabe I am anything but young , but I don’t prance around in a Speedo for the world to see. Seriously can’t you do Tai Chi in shorts and shirt? I’m sure it’s more comfortable than a Speedo. I am 50+ and workout in shorts and a top, not in a string bikini.
What is it the elder witches said to the proud young witch who was boasting in Faust- never worry dear, you’ll rot and soon be sagging? My parents are Woodstock era, and to see old pictures and see them now…. oh, Lord. It makes me shake my head, realizing these crazy young hippies are now reaching for the arthritis meds, and my generation of Riot Grrrls are hitting middle age. I love old scandals, particularly from the 20s.
Marianne is should just let other people sing her songs. Her voice, like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, is grating. I’m a fan of raspy voices but hers sounds like her vocal chords were damaged ( and probably were) by years of smoking.
She seems very cold.
That’s because Mick broke her heart. 🙁
Did he? I’ve forgotten their story.
No, it’s the smack that can turn your heart to stone. This is one reason for Keef’s amazing longevity….he was immune to that soul-freezing effect. (Same goes for Tuinal…..for some people, major opiates and downers are a living death, and of course this is their appeal, for damaged lives.)
All I recall about Jim M’s death was general lack of suprise..how awful.
@Chris, Keef provided financial support to Marianne for years by slipping her name into the songwriting credits for Sister Morphine. He knew it was ending between her and Jagger and figured she should get some money out of it. She has said that in some months her only income was from the royalties on that song.
Lilacflowers: bless him!
I recall an old interview with Marianne in which she asserted that the best night of her entire life was the one she spent with Keith (who tells us that Mick was off nibbling Anita across town). Still, I must say my impression’s always been that Marianne pulled away rather than that Mick ditched her.
But Lord, by 1969 everything’d gotten supersaturated with drama, and later, on Sticky Fingers: “No sweeping exits, or offstage lines, could make me feel bitter, or treat you unkind” reads as a valediction to the relationship, among other things.
@Chris, Marianne herself was heavily into heroin at the time the relationship ended and had been hospitalized several times for overdoses. That probably contributed to a mutual breakup.
Yes, @Chris, I read the same account — was it from her autobiography? Marianne said she had to end it with Mick because he was so deeply committed to her that he would have continued running back to her bedside through all the hospitalizations. It took some doing, but finally she purposely let her looks go in order to destroy the image he had of her. I think this picture of them was taken around the time they first met…
http://tinyurl.com/lel8nvk
I see her explanation as matter of fact. This is not a fresh wound. Morrison died more than 40 years ago. There are several theories about his death and this is Faithful’s.
I don’t know much about her personality. You’re probably right. It just seemed sort of “yeah, my boyfriend accidentally killed Jim Morrison, bummer. I was asleep cause I took some ludes.” I don’t know what I expect her to say after all this time. It just seemed cold to me.
She looks like Gary Oldman in the first picture (on the main page).
It’s weird for Marianne Faithfull to bring this up now. “My boyfriend killed Jim Morrison…oh, but I’m sure it was an accident”?
I must have a different measuring stick for the definition of “killing someone.” I don’t think it works like that. Morrison wanted heroin, he got it from a dealer, & he took it. Anyone who buys street drugs knows it’s a risk & knows that some heroin is so strong it can kill you.
I agree with the comments above that Morrison would probably not have lived much longer in any case. He had damaged his health with years of very heavy consumption of alcohol, drugs, etc. & his alcohol use alone could have killed him.
Oh, one more thing…THIS is The Lizard King, not…..that other guy.
It’s not that weird. She has a new album coming out in September.$$$$$$$.
As for heroin, it’s always better to have a little bit first to test the strength of it. Rather than having the lot in one go.
Exactly….hype for her album.
This is not a new information. As a matter of fact Marianne Faithfull has said this before in her 1994 autobiography Faithfull and she simply repeated her account because she was asked about it. It’s wrong to assume that she has decided to come out only know to promote her new album and capitalize on Jim Morrison’s death because that would be nothing else but a disgusting lie. You can read more about it here : http://www.thedoorsguide.com/news.html
Yes Chris…..isn’t that what did for Sid Vicious and Gram Parsons? Not exactly an OD but too strong after a period of withdrawal. So unpredictable and cruel.
Ah dear, so much waste, it’s so sad to look back at great years sometimes.
That’s always been the story that Jim and Pam were using heroin in the last days of his life. Also, Jim snorted the heroin so they wouldn’t have found track marks.
Pam was know to be a heroin addict. Jim’ bodyguard Tony Funches has even said that “you’d have a better chance of hiding a buffalo in a tube sock” when referring to her addiction.
Unfortunately no one will ever know the exact cause of Jim’s death because the autopsy was never performed, but knowing how self – destructive and reckless Jim was I think that anything could have killed him at that point. It could have been heroin, it could have been booze or maybe a combination of both or something else, but we can only guess. It’s sad because he was intelligent ( IQ 149), sensitive human being whose talent was unquestionable and made an incredible impact on rock n’ roll music. I wonder what direction he would take in his life if he hadn’t died so young?
Btw, here are links to interviews with Jim’s bodyguard Tony Funches ( http://www.doors.com/magazine/Tony_Funches.html) and one of his closest friends Frank Lisciandro ( http://www.lisciandrophotos.com/groups/interview.html). They are very interesting and insightful. They share a lot of stories about Jim and are portraying him in a different light than we are used to.
It’s sobering….. to stop and consider the part played by alcohol in many of these famous premature demises involving drugs. When you’re doing heroin or gobbling barbiturates, you probably consider wine a health drink by comparison, but all you need do is throw up when you’re out cold, and bye bye.
I was (and am) a big Doors and JM fan and I want to put in my $0.02 – for anyone who has read some of the hi(stories) surrounding Jim’s death, Jean De Breteuil’s name has long been out there as the guy who dealt Jim and Pam the heroin that potentially killed him (for example, a quick Google search shows this blog post from 2008: http://thelastsupperclubdining.wordpress.com/tag/jean-de-breteuil/).
So, this women is not releasing *any* information that was not already out there for quiet some time. Then, what is she doing? She is using Jim’s death to promote her record. Totally disrespectful.
Lol. Jagged looks like a Geico caveman in that picture or Phil Hoffman’s Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer.
Morrison died two years to the day after Rolling Stones founding member Brian Jones death, which was most likely a homicide.
Jones’s death was ruled a drowning by misadventure and there was evidence that Mick Jagger brandished a knife and threatened to stab Jones a few hours prior to his death.
Given the enormous efforts the Metropolitan Police put into attempts to sling Mick and Keith into prison for drugs offences, you’d think they’d have gleefully explored any particle of involvement they could impute to Mick in BJ’s death. Possibly a homicide, but nowt to do with Mick I’m sure. Brian was another who didn’t suit drugs, either temperamentally or physically.
A construction worker admitted to murderong Jones several years ago. Jagger had nothing to do with it.
Thanks for the story. I was always interested in this case, and fascinated by the photos from the last few months of his life that showed the deterioration. Like others, I doubt if he would have lived much longer. Cautionary tale.
Morrison obsessive here.
There was no autopsy or investigation. No possibility of finding anything. His mgr arrived from the US and he was already ina coffin.
Jim Morrison killed Jim Morrison. End of story.
-devout Doors fanatic
Yup, Jim did it. Remember the bouncer from a Paris club who finally confessed 30 plus years later? He said Morrison was found slumped over in a bathroom stall; he had OD’d on heroin. So the bouncer and some other big guys hauled Morrison back to his Paris apartment and then bribed a French doctor to declare he died of heart failure. I think this broke about 5 years ago, and it makes perfect sense to me…
Love Morrison and The Doors, if he was still alive they would be an ultimate bucket list concert for me. That voice is haunting!
I find the conspiracy around his possibly faked death much more interesting tbh. The most bizarre thing I think I’ve read though is that he faked his own death and then became Chevy Chase, like that of Morgan Freeman actually being Jimi Hendrix. You have to admit as absurd as it is, it’s so out there that you can’t help but think about it in a way that makes you go “woaaah”.
Sigh. Please do some research. Mick was not her first major boyfriend. She was married, to John Dunbar, and had a son with him before leaving for Mick.