Posthumous Marianne Faithfull EP to be released on Record Store Day

A four-track EP recorded by Marianne Faithfull in the year prior to her death is set to be released on vinyl for Record Store Day Day, before coming out on streaming platforms on June 6.

The record, titled Burning Moonlight, was supposed to be released in February, but was postponed following Faithfull’s death on January 30 at the age of 78.

However, her family requested the release of the tunes, with her son Nicholas Dunbar saying in a new statement: “As we grieve the loss of Marianne, we are pleased to announce the release of these songs which she worked on during the year before her death.

“Marianne lived to create and perform music – it was her driving force and she never stopped. Right up until the end she was looking forward to this release which now completes and celebrates her remarkable artistic career.”

Following the completion of Burning Moonlight, Faithfull had said: “It’s a good time to look back. It helps me to remember all the things I’ve done. I can’t say I’m a particularly nostalgic person, but I am enjoying this period of reflection.”

The new project was inspired by the singer’s first two albums, her self-titled pop record and the folk-inspired Come My Way, which both came out in 1965.

It contains four tunes including the title track, said to have been inspired by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ ‘As Tears Go By’ and ‘Love Is’, written by her grandson.

The track ‘Three Kinsmen Bold’, a traditional song Faithfull learned from her father is also set to be included, complete with a new interpretation of ‘She Moved Thru’ the Fair’, which Faithfull first recorded in 1966.

Commenting on the release, the record’s producer Head said: "I'm so happy we found a time when Marianne felt able to write and sing again.

"When she asked me to produce these songs, we were all aware that her health had made things difficult. But, in true Marianne fashion, she persevered, and I think we were able to go in a new direction again - something she always tried to push herself to do throughout her long career."

Head had first collaborated with Faithfull in 2004 on the album Before the Poison.