Amy 2024
Amy Winehouse
English singer and songwriter (–)
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September – 23 July ) was an English singer and songwriter. With over 30 million records sold worldwide,[1] she is known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, reggae, and jazz.[2][3]
Winehouse was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in her youth, signing to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in and soon recording a number of songs before signing a publishing deal with EMI.
She also formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi through these record publishers. Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released in Many of the album's songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two covers, were co-written by Winehouse. Frank was a critical and commercial success in the UK, and beyond, and was nominated for the UK's Mercury Prize.[4] The song "Stronger Than Me" won her the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
Winehouse released her follow-up album, Back to Black, in The album went on to become a huge international success and one of the best-selling albums of all time, as well as one of the best-selling albums in UK history.[5] At the Brit Awards, it was nominated for British Album of the Year and Winehouse received the award for British Female Solo Artist.
The song "Rehab" won her a second Ivor Novello Award. At the 50th Grammy Awards in , she won five awards, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys. These included three of the General Field "Big Four" Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year (for "Rehab"), as well as Best Pop Vocal Album.
Winehouse struggled throughout her life with substance abuse, mental illness and addiction.
Amy winehouse biography book Archived from the original on 26 November Archived from the original on 6 October Archived from the original on 7 December Taylor Swift.She died at her Camden Square home in London of alcohol poisoning on 23 July at the age of 27, prompting media references to the 27 Club.[6][7] Her brother believed that bulimia was also a factor. After her death, Back to Black briefly became the UK's best-selling album of the 21st century.[8]VH1 ranked Winehouse 26th on their list of the Greatest Women in Music.
Her life and career was dramatised in a biopic, Back to Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Early life
Amy Jade Winehouse was born on 14 September at Chase Farm Hospital in Gordon Hill in Enfield, London, to Jewish parents.
Her father, Mitchell "Mitch" Winehouse, was a window panel installer and taxi driver; her mother, Janis Winehouse (née Seaton), was a pharmacist.[10][11] Her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in [12] Winehouse's great-great-grandfather Harris Winehouse emigrated from Minsk, Belarus, to London in [13] She had an older brother, Alex (born ).[14] The family lived in London's Southgate area, where she attended Osidge Primary School and then secondary at Ashmole School.[15][16] Winehouse attended a Jewish Sunday school while she was a child.[17] During an interview following her rise to fame, she expressed her disapproval towards the school by saying that she used to beg her father to permit her not to go and that she learned nothing about being Jewish by going anyway.[18] In the same interview, Winehouse said she only went to a synagogue once a year on Yom Kippur "out of respect".[17]
Many of Winehouse's maternal uncles were professional jazz musicians.[19] Amy's paternal grandmother, Cynthia, had been a singer and had dated the English jazz saxophonist Ronnie Scott.[20] She and Amy's parents influenced Amy's interest in jazz.[20] Her father, Mitch, often sang Frank Sinatra songs to her, and whenever she was chastised at school, she would sing "Fly Me to the Moon" before going up to the headmistress to be told off.[21] Winehouse's parents separated when she was nine, and she lived with her mother in Whetstone, London and stayed with her father and his girlfriend in Hatfield Heath, Essex on weekends.[2]
In , her grandmother Cynthia suggested that Amy attend the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, where she went on Saturdays to further her vocal education and to learn to tap dance.[23] She attended the school for four years and founded a short-lived rap group called Sweet 'n' Sour, with Juliette Ashby, her childhood friend,[25] before seeking full-time training at Sylvia Young Theatre School.[26] Several years later it was reported that Winehouse had been expelled at 14 for "not applying herself" and also for piercing her nose, however these claims were denied by Sylvia Young: "She changed schools at 15 I've heard it said she was expelled; she wasn't.
I'd never have expelled Amy."[14][27][28] Mitch Winehouse also denied the claims.[10] An English teacher at the Sylvia Young Theatre School remembered Amy as a gifted writer, predicting that she would become a novelist or journalist.[29] She attended the Mount School, Mill Hill and the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon, dropping out at age [30][31]
After toying around with her brother Alex's guitar, Winehouse bought her own guitar when she was 14 and began writing music shortly afterwards.
Soon after, she began working for a living as an entertainment journalist for the World Entertainment News Network and also singing with local group the Bolsha Band.[14][32] In July , she became the featured female vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. At home she learned from and practised singing songs by Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Minnie Ripperton—singers who she said "will get under the song" and remake it as their own rather than sing it straight as written.[32] Winehouse's best friend, soul singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an A&R person.[20]
Career
– Career beginnings and Frank
Winehouse was signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in and was initially paid £ a week against future earnings.
While being developed by the management company, Winehouse was kept as a recording industry secret,[34] although she was a regular jazz standards singer at the Cobden Club. Her future A&R representative at Island, Darcus Beese, heard of her by chance when the manager of the Lewinson Brothers showed him some productions of his clients, which featured Winehouse as key vocalist.
When he asked who the singer was, the manager told him he was not allowed to say. Having decided that he wanted to sign her, it took several months of asking around for Beese to eventually discover who the singer was. However, by that time Winehouse had already recorded a number of songs, signed a publishing deal with EMI, and formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi.[34]
Beese introduced Winehouse to his boss, Island head Nick Gatfield, who shared his enthusiasm in signing the young artist.
Winehouse was signed to Island while rival interest in her had started to build with representatives of EMI and Virgin Records starting to make moves. Beese told HitQuarters that he felt the excitement over an artist who was an atypical pop star for the time was due to a backlash against reality TV music shows, whose audiences starved for fresh, genuine young talent.[34]
Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released on 20 October Produced mainly by Salaam Remi, many of the songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two covers, Winehouse co-wrote every song.
The album received wide critical acclaim with compliments given to the "cool, critical gaze" in its lyrics.[35][36][37] Winehouse's voice was compared with those of Sarah Vaughan and Macy Gray, among others.[37][38]
The album entered the upper reaches of the UK Albums Chart in when it was nominated for the Brit Awards in the categories of British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act.
It went on to achieve platinum sales.[39] Later in , she and Remi won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song, for their first single together, "Stronger Than Me."[41] The album was also shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. In the same year, she performed at the Glastonbury Festival (on the Jazz World stage), the V Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
After the release of the album, Winehouse commented that she was "only 80 percent behind [the] album" because Island Records had overruled her preferences for the songs and mixes to be included.[20] The further singles from the album were "Take the Box," "In My Bed"/"You Sent Me Flying" and "Pumps"/"Help Yourself."[citation needed]
– Back to Black and international success
After the release of her first jazz-influenced album, Winehouse's focus shifted to the girl groups of the s and s.
Winehouse hired New York singer Sharon Jones's longtime band, the Dap-Kings, to back her up in the studio and on tour.[42] Mitch Winehouse relates in Amy, My Daughter how fascinating watching her process was: her perfectionism in the studio and how she would put what she had sung on a CD and play it in his taxi outside to know how most people would hear her music.
In May , Winehouse's demo tracks such as "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab" appeared on Mark Ronson's New York City radio show on East Village Radio. These were some of the first new songs played on the radio after the release of "Pumps" and both were slated to appear on her second album. The track album, completed in five months, was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and Ronson, with the production credits being split between them.
Ronson said in a interview that he liked working with Winehouse because she was blunt when she did not like his work.[44] She in turn thought that when they first met, he was a sound engineer and that she was expecting an older man with a beard.
Promotion of Back to Black soon began and, in early October Winehouse's official website was relaunched with a new layout and clips of previously unreleased songs.[39]Back to Black was released in the UK on 30 October It went to number one on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks in January , dropping then climbing back for several weeks in February.
In the US, it entered at number seven on the Billboard It was the best-selling album in the UK of , selling &#;million copies over the course of the year.[46] The first single released from the album was the Ronson-produced "Rehab". The song reached the top ten in the UK and the US.[47][48]Time magazine named "Rehab" the Best Song of Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised Winehouse for her confidence, saying, "What she is is mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy" and "It's impossible not to be seduced by her originality.
Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you've got the best song of "[49] The album's second single and lead single in the US, "You Know I'm No Good," was released in January with a remix featuring rap vocals by Ghostface Killah.
It ultimately reached number 18 on the UK singles chart. The title track, "Back to Black," was released in the UK in April and peaked at number 25, but was more successful across mainland Europe.[50] "Tears Dry on Their Own," "Love Is a Losing Game" were also released as singles, but failed to achieve the same level of success.[citation needed]
A deluxe edition of Back to Black was also released on 5 November in the UK.
The bonus disc features B-sides, rare, and live tracks, as well as "Valerie". Winehouse's debut DVD I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London was released the same day in the UK and 13 November in the US. It includes a live set recorded at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire and a minute documentary charting the singer's career over the previous four years.[52]Frank was released in the United States on 20 November to positive reviews.[53][54] The album debuted at number 61 on the Billboard chart.[55] In addition to her own album, she collaborated with other artists on singles.
Winehouse was a vocalist on the song "Valerie" on Ronson's solo album Version.
Amy winehouse biography rehab: Archived from the original on 24 January Winehouse was immortalised at the world-famous London Madame Tussauds on 23 July She's had some problems and is trying to get better. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
The song peaked at number two in the UK, upon its October single release. "Valerie" was nominated for a Brit Award for British Single of the Year.[56][57][58] Her work with ex-SugababeMutya Buena, "B Boy Baby," was released on 17 December It served as the fourth single from Buena's debut album, Real Girl.[59] Winehouse was also in talks of working with Missy Elliott for her album Block Party.[60]
Winehouse promoted the release of Back to Black with headline performances in late , including a Little Noise Sessions charity concert at the Union Chapel in Islington, London.[61] On 31 December , Winehouse appeared on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny and performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" along with Paul Weller and Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.
She also performed Toots and the Maytals' "Monkey Man". At his request, actor Bruce Willis introduced Winehouse before her performance of "Rehab" at the MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, California, on 3 June [62] During the summer of , she performed at various festivals, including Glastonbury Festival[63] and Lollapalooza in Chicago.[64]
The rest of her tour, however, did not go as well.
In November , the opening night of a date tour was marred by booing and walkouts at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. A critic for the Birmingham Mail said it was "one of the saddest nights of my life I saw a supremely talented artist reduced to tears, stumbling around the stage and, unforgivably, swearing at the audience."[65] Other concerts ended similarly, with, for example, fans at her Hammersmith Apollo performance in London saying that she "looked highly intoxicated throughout,"[66] until she announced on 27 November , that her performances and public appearances were cancelled for the remainder of the year, citing her doctor's advice to take a complete rest.
A statement issued by concert promoter Live Nation blamed "the rigours involved in touring and the intense emotional strain that Amy has been under in recent weeks" for the decision.[67] Mitch Winehouse wrote about her nervousness before public performances in his book, Amy, My Daughter. On 13 January , Back to Black held the number-one position on the Billboard Pan European charts for the third consecutive week.[69]
On 10 February , Winehouse received five Grammy Awards, winning in the following categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Rehab", and Best Pop Vocal Album.[70] The singer also earned a Grammy as Best New Artist, earning her an entry in the edition of the Guinness Book of Records for Most Grammy Awards won by a British Female Act.[71] Additionally, Back to Black was nominated for Album of the Year.[72][73] Ronson's work with her won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, in the non-classical category.[74] She ended her acceptance speech for Record of the Year with, "This is for London because Camden Town ain't burning down," in reference to the Camden Market fire.[75] Performing "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab" via satellite from London's Riverside Studios at 3 a.m.
UK time, she couldn't be at the ceremony in Los Angeles as her visa approval had not been processed in time.[10]
After the Grammys, the album's sales increased, catapulting Back to Black to number two on the US Billboard , after it initially peaked in the seventh position.[76] On 20 February , Winehouse performed at the Brit Awards at Earls Court in London, performing "Valerie" with Mark Ronson, followed by "Love Is a Losing Game".
She urged the crowd to "make some noise for my Blake."[77] A special deluxe edition of Back to Black topped the UK album charts on 2 March Meanwhile, the original edition of the album was ranked at number 30 in its 68th week on the charts, while Frank charted at number [78]
In Paris, she performed what was described as a "well-executed minute" set at the opening of a Fendi boutique in early March.[79] By 12 March, the album had sold a total of 2,, copies—, copies had been sold in the previous 10 weeks—putting the album on the UK's top best-selling albums of the 21st century for the first time.[80] On 7 April, Back to Black was in the top position of the pan-European charts for the sixth consecutive and thirteenth aggregate week.[81]Amy Winehouse – The Girl Done Good: A Documentary Review, a minute DVD, was released on 14 April The documentary features interviews with those who knew her at a young age, people who helped her achieve success, jazz music experts, and music and pop culture specialists.[82]
At the Ivor Novello Awards in May, Winehouse became the first-ever artist to receive two nominations for the top award: Best Song Musically & Lyrically.
She won the award for "Love Is a Losing Game" and was nominated for "You Know I'm No Good".[83] "Rehab", a Novello winner for best contemporary song in , also received a nomination for best-selling British song.[84] Winehouse was also nominated for a MTV Europe Music Award in the Act of the Year category.[85]
Although her father, manager and various members of her touring team reportedly tried to dissuade her, Winehouse performed at the Rock in Rio Lisboa festival in Portugal in May [23] Although the set was plagued by a late arrival and problems with her voice, the crowd warmed to her.
In addition to her own material she performed two Specials covers.[86] Winehouse performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Party concert at London's Hyde Park on 27 June ,[87] and the next day at the Glastonbury Festival.[88] On 12 July, at the Oxegen Festival in Ireland she performed a well-received minute set[89] which was followed the next day by a song set at T in the Park.[90]
On 16 August she played at the Staffordshire leg of the V Festival, and the following day played the Chelmsford leg of the festival.
Amy winehouse biography jewish Archived from the original on 1 March Archived from the original on 6 March Earns Eighth U. Archived from the original on 16 JuneOrganisers said that Winehouse attracted the biggest crowds of the festival. Audience reaction was reported as mixed.[91] On 6 September, Winehouse was Bestival's Saturday headliner, where she started 40 minutes late and was on stage for 35 minutes, before her performance was terminated because of a curfew.[92][93]
A clip of Winehouse's music was included in the "Roots and Influences" area that looked at connections between different artists at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC, which opened in December One thread started with Billie Holiday, continued with Aretha Franklin and Mary J.
Blige, and then finished with Winehouse.[94]
Back to Black was the world's seventh-biggest-selling album of [95] The album's sales meant that the market performance of Universal Music Group's recorded music division did not drop to levels experienced by the overall music market.[96] The album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.[97]
– Final projects before death
In a poll of U.S.
residents conducted for VisitBritain by Harris Interactive, one-fifth of the participants indicated they had listened to Winehouse's music during the previous year.[98] She performed with Rhythms del Mundo on their cover of the Sam Cooke song "Cupid" for an Artists Project Earth benefit album released in July that year.[99][]
Winehouse and Ronson contributed a cover of Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" to the Quincy Jones tribute album Q Soul Bossa Nostra, released in November [] She had agreed to form a group with Questlove of the Roots, but her problems obtaining a visa delayed their working together.
Salaam Remi had already created some material with Winehouse as part of the project.[] According to The Times, Universal Music pressed her for new material in , but as of 2 September that year she had not been near a recording studio.[96] In late October, Winehouse's spokesman was quoted as saying that Winehouse had not been given a deadline to complete her third album, for which she was learning to play drums.[]
In May , Winehouse returned to performing at a jazz festival in Saint Lucia amid torrential downpours and technical difficulties.
During her set, it was reported she was unsteady on her feet and had trouble remembering lyrics. She apologised to the crowd for being "bored" and ended the set in the middle of a song.[][] During her stay in Saint Lucia, however, she worked on new music with Remi. On 23 August that year, Winehouse sang with the Specials at the V Festival on their songs "You're Wondering Now" and "Ghost Town".[]
Island claimed that a new album would be due for release in Island co-president Darcus Beese said, "I've heard a couple of song demos that have absolutely floored me."[] In July , Winehouse was quoted as saying her next album would be released no later than January , saying: "It's going to be very much the same as my second album, where there's a lot of jukebox stuff and songs that are just jukebox, really." Ronson, however, said at that time that he had not started to record the album.[] She performed "Valerie" with Ronson at a movie premiere but forgot some of the song's lyrics.[] In October, Winehouse performed a four-song set to promote her fashion line.
In December , she played a minute concert at a Russian oligarch's party in Moscow, with the tycoon hand-selecting the songs.[]
In January , Winehouse played five dates in Brazil, with opening acts of Janelle Monáe and Mayer Hawthorne.
Amy winehouse biography wiki Winehouse struggled throughout her life with substance abuse , mental illness and addiction. She suffered from bulimia very badly. She caught her first big break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed her demo tape to his manager, Nick Shymansky. I'd never have expelled Amy.While performing in Florianópolis, Winehouse forgot the lyrics of her songs several times and had to be aided by the public and her band. During the concert, she only drank from a water bottle, but even so, in two occasions, she left the stage in the midst of the show for a period of circa 5 minutes. Upon her return, the crowd showed strong compassion for her and praised Winehouse for continuing the performance.[][][] The following month she cut a performance in Dubai short following booing from the audience.
Winehouse was reported to be tired, distracted and "tipsy" during the performance.[]
On 18 June , Winehouse started her twelve-leg European tour in Belgrade. Local media described her performance as a scandal and disaster; she was booed off the stage due to her apparently being too drunk to perform.
Serbian defence minister Dragan Šutanovac called Winehouse's performances "a huge shame and a disappointment".[] It was reported that she was unable to remember the city she was in, the lyrics of her songs or the names of the members of her band.[][] The local press also claimed that Winehouse was forced to perform by her bodyguards, who did not allow her to leave the stage when she tried to do so.[] She then pulled out of performances in Istanbul and Athens, which had been scheduled for the following week.[] On 21 June, it was announced that she had cancelled all shows of her tour and would be given "as long as it takes" to sort herself out.[]
Winehouse's last public appearance took place at Camden's Roundhouse on 20 July , when she made a surprise appearance on stage to support her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield, who was singing "Mama Said" with the Wanted.[] Winehouse died three days later.
Her last recording was a duet with American singer Tony Bennett for his album Duets II, released on 20 September [] Their single from the album, "Body and Soul", was released on 14 September on MTV and VH1 to commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday.[]
Other ventures
Activism and philanthropy
Throughout her life Winehouse donated her money, music and time to numerous charities and causes, particularly those concerned with children.[] She joined a campaign to stop a block of flats being built beside the George Tavern, a famous London East End music venue.
Campaign supporters feared the residential development would end the spot's lucrative sideline as a film and photo location, on which it relies to survive.[] As part of a breast cancer awareness campaign, Winehouse appeared in a revealing photograph for the April issue of Easy Living magazine.[][] In , she appeared on a CD called Classics alongside musicians such as the Rolling Stones, the Killers and many Cuban musicians to raise awareness of climate change.
Winehouse loaned a vintage dress used in her video for "Tears Dry on Their Own" as well as a DVD to the British Music Experience, a new museum dedicated to the history of British pop music.[] The museum, located at the O2 Arena in London, opened on 9 March [][] In March , Winehouse donated over £20, worth of clothes to a local charity shop in London.[][]
A Caribbean man, Julian Jean DeBaptiste, revealed that Winehouse had paid for his urgent surgery costing £4, during her stay in Saint Lucia in "I had surgery on 1 July it cost a fortune and Amy paid for the whole thing.
I tried to thank her but she just hugged me and told me not to say anything. Her generosity gave me my life back."[]
Business
Winehouse had an estimated £10m fortune, tying her for tenth place in the The Sunday Times listing of the wealth of musicians under age [] The following year her fortune had dropped to an estimated £5m.[] Her finances are run by Mitch and Janis Winehouse.[] It was reported she earned about £1m singing at two private parties during Paris Fashion Week[] as well as another £1m to perform at a Moscow Art Gallery for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.[]
In January , Winehouse announced that she was launching her own record label.
The first act on her Lioness Records is Winehouse's year-old goddaughter Dionne Bromfield. Her first album, featuring covers of classic soul records, was released on 12 October [] Winehouse is the backing singer on several tracks on the album and she performed backing vocals for Bromfield on the BBC's television programme Strictly Come Dancing on 10 October.[]
Winehouse and her family are the subject of a documentary shot by Daphne Barak titled Saving Amy.[] Winehouse entered into a joint venture in with EMI to launch a range of wrapping paper and gift cards containing song lyrics from her album Back to Black.[] On 8 January , a television documentary, My Daughter Amy, aired on Channel 4.[]Saving Amy was released as a paperback book in January []
Winehouse was a notable fan of the brand Fred Perry.[] She collaborated on a piece fashion collection with the label, which was released for sale in October According to Fred Perry's marketing director "We had three major design meetings where she was closely involved in product style selection and the application of fabric, colour and styling details," and gave "crucial input on proportion, colour and fit".
The collection consists of "vintage-inspired looks including Capri pants, a bowling dress, a trench coat, pencil skirts, a longline argyle sweater and a pink-and-black checkerboard-printed collared shirt."[][] At the behest of her family, three forthcoming collections up to and including autumn/winter that she had designed prior to her death were released.[] Following Winehouse's death, Fred Perry has donated 20% of the net revenue from the Amy Winehouse collection to the charity set up in Winehouse's name, the Amy Winehouse Foundation.[]
Media image
Winehouse's greatest love was s girl groups.[] Her hairdresser, Alex Foden, borrowed her distinctive beehive hairdo (a weave) from the Ronettes[] and she borrowed her Cleopatra makeup from the same group.[] Her imitation was so successful, as The Village Voice reports: "Ronnie Spector—who, it could be argued, all but invented Winehouse's style in the first place when she took the stage at the Brooklyn Fox Theater with her fellow Ronettes more than 40 years ago—was so taken aback at a picture of Winehouse in the New York Post that she exclaimed, "I don't know her, I never met her, and when I saw that pic, I thought, 'That's me!' But then I found out, no, it's Amy!
I didn't have on my glasses."[]
The New York Times style reporter, Guy Trebay, discussed the multiplicity of influences on Winehouse's style after her death. Trebay noted, "her stylish husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, may have influenced her look." Additionally, Trebay observed:
She was a 5-foot-3 almanac of visual reference, most famously to Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes, but also to the white British soul singer Mari Wilson, less famous for her sound than her beehive; to the punk god Johnny Thunders; to the fierce council-house chicks (see: Dior and Chanel runways, and ) to a lineage of bad girls, extending from Cleopatra to Louise Brooks's Lulu and including Salt-n-Pepa, to irresistible man traps that always seemed to come to the same unfortunate end.[]
Former Rolling Stone editor Joe Levy, who had put her on the magazine's cover, broke her look down this way:
Just as her best music drew on sampling – assembling sonic licks and stylistic fragments borrowed from Motown, Stax, punk and early hip-hop – her personal style was also a knowing collage.
There was a certain moment in the '90s when, if you were headed downtown and turned left, every girl looked like Bettie Page. But they did not do what Winehouse did, mixing Bettie Page with Brigitte Bardot and adding that little bit of Ronnie Spector.[]
Winehouse's use of bold red lipstick, thick eyebrows and heavy eyeliner came from Latinas she saw in Miami, on her trip there to work with Salaam Remi on Back to Black. Her look was repeatedly denigrated by the British press.
At the same time that the NME Awards nominated Winehouse in the categories of "Best Solo Artist" and "Best Music DVD" in , they awarded her "Worst Dressed Performer".[][] Winehouse was also ranked number two on Richard Blackwell's 48th annual "Ten Worst Dressed Women" list, behind Victoria Beckham.[]
Controversies
Winehouse's dichotomous public image of critical and commercial success versus personal turmoil prompted significant media comment.
Amy winehouse biography 2015 Archived from the original on 17 January Upon her return, the crowd showed strong compassion for her and praised Winehouse for continuing the performance. Retrieved 3 June In , news broke that Winehouse was starting her own record label, Lioness Records, and had signed her year-old goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield, as her first musician.The New Statesman called Winehouse "a filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva",[] while Newsweek called her "a perfect storm of sex kitten, raw talent and poor impulse control".[] Karen Heller with The Philadelphia Inquirer summarised the maelstrom this way:
She's only 24 with six Grammy nominations, crashing headfirst into success and despair, with a codependent husband in jail, exhibitionist parents with questionable judgement, and the paparazzi documenting her emotional and physical distress.
Meanwhile, a haute designer Karl Lagerfeld appropriates her dishevelled style and eating issues to market to the elite while proclaiming her the new Bardot.[]
By , her drug problems threatened her career. As Nick Gatfield, the president of Island Records, toyed with the idea of releasing Winehouse "to deal with her problems", he said, "It's a reflection of her status [in the US] that when you flick through the TV coverage [of the Grammys] it's her image they use."[] Post-Grammys, some questioned whether Winehouse should have been honoured with the awards given her recent personal and drug problems, including Natalie Cole, who introduced Winehouse at the ceremony and who herself battled substance-abuse problems while winning a Grammy for Best New Artist in [][][][]
Winehouse was prevented from travelling to and performing at the Grammy Awards ceremony in the US due to failing a drug test, and the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, said that the alleged drug habits of Winehouse and other celebrities sent a bad message "to others who are vulnerable to addiction" and undermine the efforts of other celebrities trying to raise awareness of problems in Africa, now that more cocaine used in Europe passes through that continent.[] Winehouse's spokesperson noted that "Amy has never given a quote about drugs or flaunted it in any way.
She's had some problems and is trying to get better. The U.N. should get its own house in order."[]
In January , her record label stated it believed the extensive media coverage she had received increased record sales.[] In an April poll conducted by Sky News, Winehouse was named the second-greatest "ultimate heroine" by the UK population at large, topping the voting for that category of those polled under 25 years old.[] Psychologist Donna Dawson commented that the results demonstrated that women like Winehouse who had "a certain sense of vulnerability or have had to fight against some adversity in their lives" received recognition.[]
In July , BBC Radio Scotland's head, Jeff Zycinski, stated that the BBC, and media in general, were complicit in undermining celebrities, including Winehouse.[] He said that public interest in the singer's lifestyle did not make her lifestyle newsworthy.
Rod McKenzie, editor of the BBC Radio One programme Newsbeat, replied: "If you play [Amy Winehouse's] music to a certain demographic, those same people want to know what's happening in her private life. If you don't cover it, you're insulting young licence fee payers."[] In The Scotsman, English singer and songwriter Lily Allen was quoted to have said – "I know Amy Winehouse very well.
And she is very different to what people portray her as being. Yes, she does get out of her mind on drugs sometimes, but she is also a very clever, intelligent, witty, funny person who can hold it together. You just don't see that side."[]
Personal life
Winehouse was raised Jewish and expressed pride in being Jewish, although she was not religious.[] During one interview, Winehouse said: "[B]eing Jewish to me is about being together as a real family.
It's not about lighting candles and saying a bracha."[17] Winehouse also frequently performed with a Star of David medallion.[17]
In , in memory of Winehouse, the Jewish Museum London ran an exhibition titled "Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait".[17] The museum researched her paternal great-great-grandfather's arrival from Minsk in , and how the family finally settled in London, starting out in working-class jobs before gradually moving to middle-class jobs.[17]
Winehouse had 14 known tattoos, including "Daddy's Girl" on her left arm for her father and a pin-up girl with the name "Cynthia" on her right arm in memory of her Jewish grandmother.[] In , there were reports that Winehouse was in the process of adopting a year-old girl from St.
Lucia named Dannika Augustine. According to Dannika and her family, Amy had formed a strong bond with the poverty-stricken girl during her lengthy stays on the Caribbean island. Dannika referred to Amy as her mother and said they had a close, loving relationship.[] Her grandmother, Marjorie Lambert, confirmed that Amy had expressed a strong desire to adopt Dannika and was even willing to move to St.
Lucia to be her full-time mother.[] However, Winehouse's representative denied these claims, stating that the adoption story was not true.[]
Relationships
Winehouse dated chef-musician Alex Clare in , while on a break from her on–off boyfriend and future husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. She and Clare lived together briefly, and in a pattern that Fielder-Civil would later repeat, Clare sold his story to the News of the World, which published it under the headline "Bondage Crazed Amy Just Can't Beehive in Bed."[][][]
Fielder-Civil, a former video production assistant,[] had dropped out of Bourne Grammar School and, aged 16, moved to London from his native Lincolnshire.[23] He married Winehouse on 18 May , in Miami Beach, Florida.[] In a June interview, Winehouse admitted she could sometimes be violent toward him after she had been drinking, saying: "If he says one thing I don't like, then I'll chin him."[] In August , they were photographed, bloodied and bruised, in the streets of London after an alleged fight, although she contended her injuries were self-inflicted.[] Winehouse's parents and in-laws publicly reported their numerous concerns, the latter citing fears that the two might commit suicide.
Fielder-Civil's father encouraged fans to boycott Winehouse's music, and Mitch Winehouse said this would not help.[] Fielder-Civil was quoted in a British tabloid as saying he introduced Winehouse to crack cocaine and heroin.[] During a visit with Mitch Winehouse at the prison in July , Fielder-Civil reportedly said that he and Winehouse would cut themselves to ease the pain of withdrawal.[23] Winehouse also reportedly confessed to having an affair in []
From 21 July to 25 February , Fielder-Civil was imprisoned following his guilty plea on charges of trying to pervert the course of justice and of grievous bodily harm with intent.[][] The incident, in July , involved his assault of a pub landlord that broke the victim's cheekbone, and also saw Winehouse briefly arrested in connection with it.[] According to the prosecution, the landlord accepted £, as part of a deal to "effectively throw the [court] case and not turn up", and he testified that the money belonged to Winehouse, but she pulled out of a meeting with the men involved in the plot, to attend an awards ceremony.[][] Mitch Winehouse, as manager of his daughter's money, has denied the payoff came from her.
When Winehouse was spotted with aspiring actor Josh Bowman on holiday in Saint Lucia, in early January , she said she was "in love again, and I don't need drugs."[] She commented that her "whole marriage was based on doing drugs" and that "for the time being I've just forgotten I'm even married."[] On 12 January, Winehouse's spokesman confirmed that "papers have been received" for what Fielder-Civil's solicitor said were divorce proceedings based on a claim of adultery.[][] In March, Winehouse was quoted in a magazine as saying, "I still love Blake and I want him to move into my new house with me—that was my plan all along I won't let him divorce me.
He's the male version of me and we're perfect for each other."[] Nonetheless, an uncontested divorce was granted on 16 July and became final on 28 August [] Fielder-Civil received no money in the settlement.[10][]
Winehouse was in a relationship with a British writer and film director Reg Traviss, from early until her death.[] According to media reports and a biography written by Winehouse's father, Traviss and Winehouse had planned to marry and intended to have children.[] However, conflicting reports state that Winehouse and Fielder-Civil had begun a relationship that same year and had even discussed remarriage.[]
In July , when Rolling Stone reporter Claire Hoffman asked Winehouse if she was in a relationship with Pete Doherty, she replied: "We're just good friends", and added: "I asked Pete to do a concept EP, and he made this face, he looked at me like I'd pooed on the floor.
He wouldn't do it. We're just really close". However, after Winehouse's death, Doherty said that he and Winehouse had been lovers at one point.[]
Substance abuse and mental illness
Winehouse's troubles with substance abuse were the subject of much media attention over the years.[7] In , she went through a period of drinking, heavy drug use, and weight loss.[10][23] People who saw her during the end of that year and early reported a rebound that coincided with the writing of Back to Black.[23] Her family believes that the mid death of her grandmother, who was a stabilising influence, set her off into addiction.[23] In August , Winehouse cancelled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health.
She was hospitalised during this period for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.[] In various interviews, she admitted to having problems with self-harm, depression, and eating disorders.[14][]
Winehouse told the Los Angeles Times that the drugs were to blame for her hospitalisation and that "I really thought that it was over for me then."[] Soon afterwards, Winehouse's father commented that when he had made public statements regarding her problems he was using the media because it seemed the only way to get through to her.[] In an interview with The Album Chart Show on British television, Winehouse said she was manic depressive and not alcoholic, adding that that sounded like "an alcoholic in denial".[] A US reporter writes that Winehouse was a "victim of mental illness in a society that doesn't understand or respond to mental illness with great effectiveness."[] According to Forensic physician Dr Jason Payne-James, Winehouse may have suffered from borderline personality disorder (BPD).
He explained she shows some symptoms for disorder such as extreme reactions to trauma like abandonment (when described as a symptom "frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment"),[] impulsive or reckless behaviours like substance use disorders, binge eating,[] recurrent suicidal ideation, self-cutting or self-harm, rapidly shifting intense emotional dysregulation, chronic feelings of emptiness or boredom, unstable and chaotic interpersonal relationships, often characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation, also known as "splitting", inappropriate, intense anger that can be difficult to control.[] Before her death Winehouse had been examined by a psychiatrist and psychologist and doctors recommended that she undergo dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT).[] DBT is based upon the biosocial theory of mental illness and is the first therapy that has been experimentally demonstrated to be generally effective in treating borderline personality disorder.[][]
In December , Winehouse's spokesman reported that the singer was in a physician-supervised programme and was channelling her difficulties by writing a lot of music.[] In January , the British tabloid The Sun posted a video in which Winehouse appeared to be smoking crack cocaine and speaking of having taken ecstasy and Valium.
The event took place on Friday 18 January, in the early hours of the morning. Later that morning, Winehouse attended a remand hearing for her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who was then awaiting trial on charges of perverting the course of justice.[] Shortly after the alleged crack cocaine incident, Winehouse's father moved in with her, to keep her under 'hour watch'.[] At this time, Island Records, her record label, announced the abandonment of plans for an American promotion campaign on her behalf.[] On 23 January , the video was passed on to the Metropolitan Police,[] who questioned her on 5 February.[] No charges were brought.
In late January, Winehouse reportedly entered a rehabilitation facility for a two-week treatment program.[] On 26 March, Winehouse's spokesman said she was "doing well".[] Her record company reportedly believed that her recovery remained fragile.[] By late April , her erratic behaviour—including an allegation of assault—caused fear that her drug rehabilitation efforts had been unsuccessful.[] Winehouse's father and manager then sought to have her detained under the Mental Health Act of [] Her dishevelled appearance during and after a scheduled club night in September prompted new rumours of a relapse.
Photographers were quoted as saying she appeared to have cuts on her arms and legs.[]
According to her physician, Winehouse quit using illegal substances in [] In an October interview, speaking of her decision to quit drugs, Winehouse said, "I literally woke up one day and was like, 'I don't want to do this any more.'"[] However, alcohol emerged as a problem, with Winehouse abstaining for a few weeks and then lapsing into alcohol abuse.[] Her physician said that Winehouse was treated with Librium for alcohol withdrawal and anxiety and underwent psychological and psychiatric evaluations in , but refused psychological therapy.[]
Violence and legal difficulties
In , Winehouse admitted to punching a female fan in the face for criticising her for having a relationship with then-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil.
She then attacked Fielder-Civil as he attempted to calm her down, kneeing him in the crotch.[][] In October , Winehouse and Fielder-Civil were arrested in Bergen, Norway, for possession of seven grams of cannabis. The couple were later released and fined kroner (around £).[