After breaking up with Jagger, Faithfull briefly stopped recording and nursed a drug addiction. She returned in 1979 (see 1979 in music) with Broken English, a critical smash hit that did not achieve much success in mainstream markets. This pattern continued throughout the 1980s, with Strange Weather (1987) being her most important album of the decade.
Faithfull sung backup vocals on Metallica's song "The Memory Remains" from their 1996 album Load.