How drugs helped me heal

The BBC's Jon Sopel interviewed Marianne Faithfull

Sixties icon, Marianne Faithfull, has poured scorn on the stars who performed at the Queen's Jubilee concert.

She said that the guest list was more noteworthy for those who were missing, than the artistes who turned up.

I couldn't bear to watch it

Marianne Faithfull

Queen, Paul McCartney and Will Young were among the headline-hitting acts at the Buckingham Palace live spectacle earlier this month.

But in a swipe at those who turned up, the 55-year-old musician and songwriter said: "I couldn't bear to watch it.

"One must give credit to the people who didn't do it - a lot of people were asked."

Absences

One notable absence was Ms Faithfull's former lover, Mick Jagger who was recently knighted.

He was approached to take part but declined because The Rolling Stones are preparing for their next world tour which will start in September.

She's much more overtly sexy

Marianne on Kylie

It had been rumoured that he would perform as part of a 'supergroup' with Paul McCartney and Phil Collins.

Ms Faithfull said that not only did she not watch the concert, she would never have agreed to take part.

She said: "Are you kidding! I wouldn't have been asked and of course I would have refused."

In an interview for BBC's HARDtalk programme she also revealed that Kylie Minogue was among the few showbiz friends she had.

She explained: "One of the only sort of people that I like and do talk to, if I have to go to one of those rock biz things is Kylie, I like her."

Faithfull: 'I was sexy by accident.'

Ms Faithfull said Kylie was "much more overtly sexy" than she had been as a young woman.

But she added: "It's an act, in real life she's not like that."

"I was sexy by accident which is actually not sexy. It's much more attractive to be beautiful, but not know you're beautiful."

Gilded cage

Marianne Faithfull has been inextricably linked to the Rolling Stones since the age of 17 when she met their manager Andrew Loog Oldham at a party.

He persuaded Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write her biggest hit 'As Tears Go By.'

She became involved in an intense relationship with Jagger, but when they split up at the beginning of the 70s she spiralled into full time heroin addiction, living on the streets of Soho for two years.

But incredibly, she now describes her descent into drugs as "healing" and a way out of a gilded cage.

Jagger and Faithfull were lovers in the 60's

She said: "It wasn't glamorous, but I was really hurt. I was in agony and I healed myself as best I could. One of the ways was with drugs, because they are painkillers."

"It was all too much for me. I really didn't like my gilded cage so I read the Naked Lunch and I thought this is the opposite of the gilded cage - whoopee!

"I really didn't think I was going to do it but when the chance came I grabbed it."

In 1979 she emerged back in to the limelight with the release of the groundbreaking album 'Broken English'.

She has continued to work regularly ever since, but acknowledged that it is still a struggle to be recognised as an artist in her own right.

But she added: "I've always wanted to do good work, have a really great time and have a wonderful life - I've done that.

"What I've never put into the equation unfortunately is make a lot of money."