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Winehouse appears bloody and bruised following a fight with Fielder-Civil, reflecting the start of her 'trainwreck' image.

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Hearsum, P. (2012) A musical matter of life and death: the morality of mortality and the coverage of Amy Winehouse's death in the UK press, Mortality

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Hearsum, P. (2012) A musical matter of life and death: the morality of mortality and the coverage of Amy Winehouse's death in the UK press, Mortality

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Hearsum (2012) discusses the issues surrounding the Amy (2015) documentary. In an attempt to re-frame the negative image surrounding Winehouse's life, director Asif Kapadia uses unseen footage and testimonials to demonstrate the impact of the intrusive media treatment she received throughout her career. However, Hearsum argues that this documentary frames Winehouse as a victim, from a male perspective and disregards how Winehouse sought to represent herself through the public sphere.

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When I was younger, I didn't really listen to a lot of soul. But in the last year I got really into Motown girl groups. I liked Otis Redding from 14 or 15, but I listened to hip-hop and jazz for so many years. It goes jazz, soul, Motown, then hip-hop. Obviously, I've gone in the middle.

On gospel

I've been listening to a lot of gospel singers like Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin. I love gospel, because gospel is so truthful. You know, I'm not religious, but there is nothing more pure than the relationship you have with your God - there is nothing stronger than that apart from your love of music. Gospel is very inspirational.

Watch Amy Winehouse discuss her love of jazz and gospel music, and perform Tears Dry on Their Own at the Other Voices festival in 2006 BBC

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On Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington

Ella Fitzgerald knew how to carry a tune, but to me she's just like a lot of other people. You can hear her and go: that's Ella Fitzgerald, but it's not like she stood out. Sarah Vaughan is one of my favourite singers of all time. She was an instrument. I've heard one record, it's like a humming solo, and she sounds like a reed instrument - like a clarinet. I came to Sarah Vaughan later: I was about 18. And I learned to sing from Dinah Washington, and from stuff like [Thelonious] Monk. It wasn't just the vocal jazz - I learned from everything, really.

On her brother's music collection

My brotherwas listening to stuff like Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam and Therapy, really, like, I-want-to-die bands. I had a really brief flirtation with that, but I must have been nine - and then I discovered Salt-n-Pepaand I was like: I've got my music now. He started listening to jazz when he was about 18 and I was 14. I just remember the first time I ever heard [Monk's] Around Midnight, through the wall. I was just like: what is that? And I remember the first time I heard Ray Charles. It was Unchain My Heart. I remember walking into my brother's room. I always used to knock because he would throw stuff at you if you didn't. But I opened the door and he goes, what? He looked at me as if I was about to go, "Mum's dead" or something (touch wood). He goes what's wrong and I went: "Who is this?" And he went: "It's Ray Charles." Then I just listened to Ray Charles for three months, exclusively.

Watch Amy Winehouse discuss her jazz influences and perform Love Is a Losing Game at the Other Voices festival in 2006 BBC

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On her first break

I did one gig as a singer for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, which everyone has come through or goes through at some point. That was my first and last gig, because my manager came and said, "We'll give you loads of studio time - just go in and play guitar and write songs." And I was like: thanks, why? And he was like you're going to make an album and then I'm going to get you signed and everything. So it was cool. A couple of months ago, I did a massive opening for a casino. I'd go out with just my piano player and we would do jazz all night. Or sometimes there are these Russian bankers that really like me because I'm a Russian Jew. They always book me if they are in town, and we do jazz for them. We don't do my stuff.

On the Shangri-Las

I love the drama, I love the atmosphere, I love the sound effects. And they wrote the most depressing song ever: I Can Never Go Home Anymore. When me and my boyfriend finished, I used to listen to that song on repeat, just sitting on my kitchen floor with a bottle of Jack Daniel's. I'd pass out, wake up and do it again. My flatmate used to come in, leave bags of KFC and just leave. She'd be like: there's your dinner, I'm going out. It's the saddest song in the world.
This is an edited extract from a previously unbroadcast interview, recorded at the Other Voices festival in Dingle in 2006. Amy Winehouse: The Day She Came to Dingle, an Arena documentary for BBC4, will be broadcast at 10pm tonight.

This article was amended on 31 July 2012. The original misspelled Thelonious Monk's first name as Thelonius. This has been corrected.

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In a previously unseen interview from 2006, Amy Winehouse shared her love for Sarah Vaughan, gospel music and the Shangri-Las - as well as recalling her first big break

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Amy Winehouse is in rehab. Somewhere. We think

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The troubled singer is either in America or Essex, depending on which gossipmonger you believe. Elsewhere, Pete tries an unusual tactic to win back Kate, while Lily’s personal style takes a Great Leap Forward.

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Berkers, P. and Eeckelaer, M. (2014) ‘Rock and roll or rock and fall? Gendered framing of the rock and roll lifestyles of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty in British broadsheets,’ 

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Berkers, P. and Eeckelaer, M. (2014) ‘Rock and roll or rock and fall? Gendered framing of the rock and roll lifestyles of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty in British broadsheets,’ 

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Winehouse's struggle with alcohol becomes more widely documented as she is followed by the press and photographed during wild drug binges and fights with Fielder-Civil.

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Winehouse's struggle with alcohol becomes more widely documented as she is followed by the press and photographed during wild drug binges and fights with Fielder-Civil.

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Trainwreck femininity and Whitney: monstrousfeminine redux

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Trainwreck femininity and Whitney: monstrousfeminine redux

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Number of interviews which demonstrate her down to earth personality and self-deprecating sense of humour.

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Amy Winehouse is being celebrated from beyond the grave as part of the Brit School's 20th-year celebrations.

The late singer, a former pupil, was named as the top contributor to the 65million albums sold by the academyâ€™s alumni, research by the Official Chart Company and Music Week revealed.

Winehouseâ€™s 2006 album Back To Black was listed as the top-selling record by the former students. The singer, who died aged 27 in July, beat X Factor star Leona Lewis, who has sold the second-most albums with her 2007 record Spirit.

â€˜My time there was invaluable,â€™ the 26-year-old singer said.

This yearâ€™s biggest pop star, Adele, already has the third-biggest record of all the graduates with her latest album 21. Her single Someone Like You is the Brit Schoolâ€™s biggest-ever single.

The famous ex-students were hailed by â€˜fifth Beatleâ€™ Sir George Martin, whose recording studio at the Croydon facility has been revamped to mark the 20 years.

â€˜There is something deeply rewarding about watching young people flourish and fulfil their creative potential. The school continues to be a beacon of excellence,â€™ the 85-year-old producer said.

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Amy Winehouse hailed as the Brit School's most successful pupil

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Amy Winehouse is being celebrated from beyond the grave as part of the Brit School's 20th-year celebrations. The late singer, a former pupil, was named as the top contributor to the 65million albums sold by the academyâ€™s alumni, research by the Official Chart Company and Music Week revealed.

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In Winehouse's first appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, she wears pink hoop earrings with relatively light makeup, symbolic of her Frank album era. It is interesting to compare this to her second appearance on the show (2006), where her makeup and hair are styled far more dramatically in her iconic beehive and winged eyeliner look, and her body is covered in tattoos. Furthermore, she is louder and more outspoken in 2006, demonstrating her changing star identity as she deals with her relationship with Fielder-Civil, and falls deeper into her drug and alcohol addiction.

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Never Mind The Buzzcocks Amy Winehouse, Phill Jupitus, Rich Hall | Intros Round

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In a collaboration with Fred Perry, an iconic brand Winehouse was often pictured wearing, the Amy Winehouse Foundation celebrates Winehouse's unique style through a collection of polo shirts, jackets and dresses.

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THE AMY WINEHOUSE FOUNDATION Back to Black

Named one of the best, if not the best albums of the 21st Century, Back to Black was the seminal album from Amy Winehouse, whose honest lyrics and unique voice captivated the world over.

We reflect on the anticipation of its launch in 2006 with an interview by Laura Jones, who happened to meet the singer one night in a north London nightclub and, perched on the sinks in the men's toilets, was fortunate enough to grab fifteen minutes with her. The image of Amy was captured on a Nokia handset.

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Amy Winehouse Foundation Collection | Tops & Dresses | Fred Perry UK

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Named one of the best, if not the best albums of the 21st Century, Back to Black was the seminal album from Amy Winehouse, whose honest lyrics and unique voice captivated the world over.

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The songs in Back to Black are heavily inspired by her relationship with Fielder-Civil. Influenced by 60s girl groups, she moves away from the jazz style of Frank and expresses her emotions through deeply personal lyrics. The meanings of her songs have been widely interpreted, with some suggesting they are inspired by her struggle with depression, alcohol and depression.

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Both Fielder-Civil and Winehouse had tattoos of each other's names

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Following the release of Back to Black (2007), Winehouse exploded into global success, winning a Grammy and performing at Glastonbury. Her extremely quick rise to fame perhaps contributed to the public fascination of her life, whilst causing her to spiral into addiction to cope with her newfound fame and media scrutiny.

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Relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil (2005)

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Relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil (2005)

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Winehouse's turbulent relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil began in 2005, while he was working as a video production assistant. Only a few months into their relationship. Fielder-Civil broke things off with Winehouse and went back to his ex-girlfriend. The heartbreak experienced by Winehouse during this time inspired much of her second album Back to Black (2007). It was around this time that Winehouse's serious drug and alcohol binges began as she attempted to heal from her heartbreak.

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During this early interview with Jonathon Ross, Winehouse discusses her first album (Frank). Emphasising her authenticity, she explains how she writes her own songs and jokes 'they tried to mould me into a triangle, and I said no' when asked if her management had tried to influence her style. Winehouse's self-confidence shines through in this interview- a trait which would be both praised and criticked by the press.

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Amy Winehouse - Jonathan Ross 2004 HQ (I Heard Love Is Blind + Interview)

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Following her death at the age of 27, Winehouse was instantly added to the '27 Club', a group of celebrities categorised for their untimely deaths from various causes, at 27. Although not a genuine theory, this correlation between Winehouse and other stars plays a part in her post-humous identity as she is now recognised as a main character in this 'club'.

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From Robert Johnson to Anton Yelchin, 20 stars who died at 27

The 27 Club has become one of the most elusive and remarkably tragic coincidences in rock & roll history. The term became widely known after Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, with rock fans connecting his age to that of Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix - though it was notable to fans in the early 1970s when those four visionaries died within just two years of each other. When Amy Winehouse passed away at age 27 in 2011, it attracted even more attention to the significance of the age. While the club has been largely connected to musicians, it has expanded since, as many young actors and artists have lost their lives due to everything from addiction to suicide to freak accidents. Here are some of the unfortunate and untimely losses connected to the club.

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From Robert Johnson to Anton Yelchin, 20 stars who died at 27 The 27 Club has become one of the most elusive and remarkably tragic coincidences in rock & roll history.

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Long after her death, tributes to Winehouse continue. Examples selected her include the statue in Camden town, reflections from her goddaughter, flowers left after the 10th anniversary of her death and an exhibition at the Design Museum. Each highlighting different elements of her identity, these tributes emphasise her legacy and her impact on fans globally.

Many documentaries have been released since her death, most notably Amy (2015), exploring her life and stuggles. A new biopic is set to be released in upcoming years, aiming to celebrate her life and talent through actors which represent her working class, Jewish background. It is evident that Winehouse's life is of great fascination to both directors and the public.

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Amy Winehouse's death, tributes and press reaction (2011)

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Amy Winehouse's death, tributes and press reaction (2011)

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Following Winehouse's death, a number of tributes emerged outside her Camden home. Notably, two shrines represented the various aspects of her identity. One shrine included flowers and heartfelt messages, whereas the other reflected her party lifestyle with beer cans and cigarettes. Although the second shrine was seen as disrespectful, the shrines represent the various sides to Winehouse's identity and reflect the public opinion towards her.

Interestingly, following her death, on the front pages of newspapers, journalists selected images of appearing healthy- differing from the deranged images which often appeared in newspapers while she was alive.

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It didn't take long for Amy's shrine to lose its dignity amid a sea of vodka bottles, beer cans and a stream of attention-seekers

Skinheads, goths, drunks, businessmen, grandmas, young mothers, dreadlocked youths, a girl with lime green hair.

All were Amy Winehouse's audience - and yesterday all were part of the show.

The youngest I spoke to was just four; the oldest was 88. Mickey Lawrence, a retired transport company boss, came to see the floral tributes to the tragic singer outside the house in which she died on Saturday.

He looked disapprovingly at the vodka bottles that 'well-wishers' had planted among the flowers, symbols of the addiction the 27-year-old singer was unable to beat.

'That's a bit off,' he said. 'And I don't like the swear words in some of the messages. But I know she had fans all over the world, so I expected something like this.

'This morning someone asked me the way here. I didn't have to ask them why they were going.'

All around him as he spoke, TV crews from various countries were interviewing people at the scene.

They didn't have to try too hard to find interviewees. Behind one, two teenage girls were waiting in line to speak of their 'disbelief' at what had happened, and the 'void' it would leave in their lives.

The black-haired one showed off a tattoo, which, she said, she had modelled on one Miss Winehouse sported.

A steady stream of people turned the leafy square opposite her North London home into an all-day Amy-fest.

This was the place to come for anyone who wanted to pay their respects, toast her in strong lager, or, as it turned out, get themselves on TV.

There was genuine grief here yesterday, and some heartfelt, handwritten tributes to a broken star who sold 15million albums by the age of 27.

But it didn't take long before the makeshift shrine began to lose what little dignity could remain when a carpet of flowers is swollen by empty vodka bottles and beer cans, poorly spelled messages and attention-seeking visitors.

The vodka bottles were presumably left as a hallmark of Miss Winehouse's drunken lifestyle, placed at her 'shrine' in the way that a mourner might leave a child's toy at their graveside.

But yesterday, as toxicology tests were being carried out to confirm whether she died in a drink and drug binge, they took on a macabre symbolism.

For whatever the final results of the post-mortem examination, there is no doubt that the Grammy Award-winner drank herself into oblivion.

Most of the bottles at the Camden Square Amy-fest were empty, glistening in the sunlight among all the other 'tributes'.

Her fans had earlier raised them to her in celebration before glugging down the contents. Maybe the misguided souls who left the bottles didn't realise the significance. Or perhaps that was the point.

Soon after the rush-hour trains began to arrive at King's Cross and St Pancras stations, the trickle of wellwishers turned to a torrent.

Seasoned shrine-goers arrived with a flask of coffee or a can of drink. The clever ones brought sticky-tape to fix their messages to nearby park railings.

To read some of them, you could be forgiven for thinking the writers had lost a close relative. One was an elaborate drawing of a red rose surrounded by the words: 'Forever be my pin-up chick.'

Catherine Tate, the 26-year-old mother of four who left the note, had never met Miss Winehouse, never been to one of her concerts.

'My children loved her,' she said. 'I was absolutely devastated when I heard. I think it was always on the cards that she wouldn't make it but it doesn't make it any less hard to deal with.'

Or this from an unknown fan, in mis-spelled felt-tip, on a piece of paper just yards from Miss Winehouse's shiny black front door: 'You were my insperation.'

Elsewhere 'tragic' was the word most used to describe her death. Inevitable was another. Darren Davey told me without irony he thought drink and drugs contributed to her song-writing.

Maurizio Ticciati insisted it was the other way around: 'Music is something that can help you overcome the depression that drink and drugs bring. But it doesn't cure it. I'm really sorry she had to learn that.'

Locals around Camden Square celebrated the outlandishly dressed singer as one of their own.

Cafés and pubs where she drank had posters and photographs of her and they spoke fondly of her discreet patronage (or as discreet as anyone could be with an 18-inch beehive hairdo and a passion for multiple vodka and cokes).

Their messages of sympathy were among those being gradually covered by flowers and cuddly toys throughout the day.

Someone likened it to the phenomenon that saw a massive carpet of flowers spreading out from the gates of Kensington Palace when Princess Diana died.

Someone else compared it to the growing culture of leaving wreaths at road-death sites. You could see what they meant. Photographs, drawings and CDs were everywhere.

Amy Winehouse lookalikes came and went in tears. You knew this was serious when Camden council pinned recycling bags on the railings alongside some of the tributes.

And then a commotion broke out. Artist Sean Burtenshaw was mobbed by cameras as he unveiled a 3ft by 2ft portrait of Miss Winehouse, featuring what looks like real hair stuck on to the canvas.

The 22-year-old exhibited the painting earlier in the year but brought it yesterday from his bedroom wall. 'I really wanted to give it to her as a present,' he said. 'Now it's just too late. If her parents want it, I'd be happy to give it to them.'

Mitch and Janis Winehouse had already been and gone, emerging from the cordon that police put around the house and across the road outside. They sobbed as they read some of the tributes.

Afterwards Mr Winehouse told the crowd: 'You people in the street - I can't tell you what this means to us. It really is making this a lot easier for us.

'Amy was about one thing and that was love. Her whole life was devoted to her family and her friends and to you guys as well. We're devastated and I'm speechless but thanks for coming.'

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It didn't take long for Amy's shrine to lose its dignity amid a sea of vodka bottles, beer cans and a stream of attention-seekers

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Skinheads, goths, drunks, businessmen, grandmas, young mothers, dreadlocked youths, a girl with lime green hair. All were Amy Winehouse's audience - and yesterday all were part of the show. The youngest I spoke to was just four; the oldest was 88.

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"In Amy’s memory, we work to inspire children and young people to build their self-esteem and resilience, so they can flourish.

Our work is inspired by Amy’s spirit, her love of children and the challenges that she faced in her own life.

Today, the Amy Winehouse Foundation helps thousands of young people to feel supported and informed, so that they are better able to manage their emotional wellbeing and make informed choices around things that can affect their lives."

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Resilience work with young people - Amy Winehouse Foundation

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Resilience work with young people "Without this experience I wouldn't have known how much drugs affect you and may have gone down the wrong path." Every year, we meet thousands of young people who feel under a great deal of pressure. They can be struggling with exams or with relationships.

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Launched in 2011, the Amy Winehouse Foundation was set up by her family to celebrate her life and support young people through their emotions and addictions.

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Amy Winehouse Foundation - Amy Winehouse Foundation

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Become a part of Amy's legacySupport our work and help to change the lives of young people.Learn moreResilience work with young people Helping young people to make informed choices about drugs and alcohol. Learn moreAmy's Place - Recovery housing for young women Giving women a safe place to recover from addiction.

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11 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2020

Date Written: November 30, 2018

Abstract

The link between great creativity and psychopathology remains highly debated, but still a firmly established finding by many studies during the last century. Whereas biographic evidence for psychotic affective disorders has often been reported for creative artists, the present study takes into account the recent discussions about the traits of autism spectrum and ADHD that are found in high creativity. The most recent book by the Irish psychiatrist Michael Fitzgerald, The Mind of the Artist serves as the frame of reference. The case under study is the British jazz singer Amy Winehouse (1983-2011). Two biographic narratives, one by each of her parents, are analysed for her cognitive and behavioural profile and personality traits. The cognitive strengths and weaknesses observed, as well as the descriptions of her social and non-social behaviours, closely match the ADHD and autistic symptoms. The identity diffusion that is a characteristic of highly creative artists according to Fitzgerald, also occurs as the prominent feature of singer's persona with multifaceted ways of expression. Both autistic and ADHD traits were high in her persona which enhanced her creativity, but also caused problems in everyday life.

Keywords: Amy Winehouse, autism, ADHD

Annus, Amar, Amy Winehouse and the Mind of the Artist (November 30, 2018). Journal of Genius and Eminence 3(1): 38-48, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3528177

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amy winehouse and the mind of the artist

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Amy Winehouse and the Mind of the Artist

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11 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2020 Date Written: November 30, 2018 The link between great creativity and psychopathology remains highly debated, but still a firmly established finding by many studies during the last century.

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Winehouse's mental and eating disorders have often been discussed. Despite never receiving official diagnosis, it is speculated that she suffered from anorexia, bulimia and depression, whilst she also demonstrated traits of ADHD. These characteristics play a role in her star image and media representation as she is portrayed as a victim to her mental health.

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There is a tacitly accepted set of rules that our culture follows when it comes to women in the spotlight. They are required to be thin. They do not eat a normal diet and that in and of itself is seen as normal, not even dangerous. Disordered eating is so normalized in our culture, especially in celebrity culture, that few people even acknowledge that it's not healthy, and very potentially fatal. Eating disorders fall in line with what society expects of a celebrity-we love thinness so much, yet we know we're supposed to be repulsed by the means of achieving that thinness-it's easier to scrutinize their lifestyle or their partying than ever examine the toll of staying under a certain weight.

Amy Winehouse learned those ugly rules of womanhood early, as footage from Asif Kapadia's devastating, much-praised documentary Amy reveals. A teenaged Winehouse, snacking with her friends, laments between mouthfuls that she's a pig and she cannot help herself. In a voiceover during this sequence, the singer's mother Janis Winehouse recounts the moment a young Amy tells her mother about discovering a great new "diet"-eating and then vomiting-that allows her to eat without gaining weight.

-=-=-=-The film avoids editorializing at this point or any other-the format, consistent with Kapadia's earlier, also critically-acclaimed documentary, Senna, involves audio interviews and raw footage, but no commentary-yet no editorializing is required in order for a viewer to feel distraught-the next few sentences to come out of Janis's mouth are enough. She muses that she essentially ignored the statement and forgot about it, thinking it was a silly teen girl activity that Amy would soon grow out of. She says that when Amy told her father, Mitch Winehouse, as well, he also dismissed it.

This casual dismissal-the first mention of Amy Winehouse's eating disorder-is wrenching, and comes almost halfway into the film. For many viewers, this may be the first they have ever heard about Winehouse's eating disorder. As well-documented as her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction were, the tiny little fact of her severe, untreated, decade-long eating disorder was rarely mentioned. When her thinness was mocked in the media, it was almost always with the implication that hey, addicts are always skinny little wrecks. If her puffy face was ever evaluated-and it was, because every aspect of her physical appearance was eviscerated during the height of the media's obsession with her-it was through the lens of someone looking for signs of alcohol addiction (which commonly causes bloating in the face) and not signs of self-induced vomiting.

Winehouse's struggles with substance abuse were highly public and often ridiculed and, as many others have noted, the film does an outstanding job of laying bare the damaging impact that media coverage and celebrity-worship can have on the real, flesh-and-blood artists. She is quite literally attacked by paparazzi during highly personal events such as visits to rehab and her husband's prison stint.

Amy also documents in thorough detail the many attempts by those surrounding the singer to get her help-both for altruistic reasons (read: because they cared deeply for the sparkling, kind, immensely talented woman) and for selfish motives (read: because they cared deeply about the fame and money that Amy could bring them as long as she was able to comport herself in the studio and on tour).

What the film is surprisingly lacking in, though, is anything beyond passing mentions of her bulimia. That segment transitions into an interview with someone working in the studio while Amy was recording Back to Black. They recount that the (very tiny) singer ate a large meal, disappeared for 45 minutes, and returned with smeared makeup. Some bathroom snooping followed, which revealed that Amy had "redecorated the bathroom," having vomited up what she'd just eaten. This, the interviewee notes, was a point when she and others involved in the recording process realized something was really wrong. Then the film transitions away from any serious discussion of her eating disorder and never returns, other than in passing mentions perhaps three or four times. The disease is always treated as incidental and almost, to my perception, as something as permanent and untreatable as late-stage cancer, with an air of nothing can be done.

Eating disorders, for the most part, are a highly contained and easily managed means of utterly ruining oneself. A person with bulimia nervosa can carry on bingeing and purging while otherwise maintaining a high level of functionality. The same goes of those with anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and purging disorder. Bingeing, purging, or starving are highly unlikely to put you into debt, and leave you unintoxicated and able to carry out the tasks of a job, and tend to the demands of a relationship and daily chores of life. These facts make it very easy for the friends, family, and colleagues of those with an eating disorder to overlook the disease, as the footage and interviews we see in Amy remind us.

When Amy suffers and survives her first overdose, a close acquaintance summarizes the urgings of a doctor and those around her to explain that a "petite" young girl cannot maintain the level of drug and alcohol abuse that led to the overdose. However, we've seen the footage. Amy wasn't always petite, and would likely not have been referred to that way even at the time she began performing in clubs and signed a record deal. Early videos of her performing for industry folks as an 18- or 19-year-old show her with broad shoulders, a heavy chest, full thighs and torso-generally an "average-sized" woman with a solid frame. This "petiteness" was not natural; it was fought for.

But to anyone other than Amy, it was easy to overlook and intimidating to address. An interview with her brother Alex in the Guardian confirms the known-but-not-discussed quality of Amy's bulimia: "We all knew she was doing it, but it's almost impossible [to tackle] especially if you're not talking about it. It's a real dark, dark issue."

Yet, Amy Winehouse's eating disorder wasn't simply "yet another bad decision." The environmental and genetic factors at play in Winehouse's childhood and adolescence put her at extremely high risk for developing an eating disorder, and the lack of early intervention, education, and stable guidance meant that the disease was able to firmly take root and flourish as she was put in higher- and higher-stress situations. According to the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, "There isn't one conclusive cause of eating disorders. Multiple factors are involved, such as genetics and metabolism; psychological issues-such as control, coping skills, trauma, personality factors, family issues; and social issues, such as a culture that promotes thinness and media that transmits this message."

Depression is the most common mood disorder to be comorbidly diagnosed with an eating disorder, and those with eating disorders are commonly known to use their disordered "behaviors"-restricting caloric intake (commonly referred to simply as "restricting"), bingeing (which, by the definition found on the website for the National Eating Disorders Association, is characterized by "frequent episodes of consuming very large amounts of food" and a related "feeling of being out of control during the binge eating episodes"), and purging (which does not always take the form of self-induced vomiting; overexercising and laxative/diuretic abuse are also forms of purging)-as ways to cope with depression, anxiety, manic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other psychological disorders.

Winehouse was put on antidepressants early in life and, in one interview shown in the film, spoke with a depth of understanding on the subject of depression as a disease.

She said that as a child, "I don't think I knew what depression was. I know I felt funny sometimes and I was different." As she grew older and began taking the antidepressants, her understanding clearly deepened, and in the interview she rejects the notion that there's something wrong with those who suffer from depression: "I'm not like some messed up person, you know? There's a lot of people that suffer depression that don't have an outlet." Her outlet, she says, is playing guitar and writing music. Environmental factors, such as an unstable home life marked by an often-absent father and a mother who admits that it was a struggle to say "no" to her daughter, also likely played a role in Winehouse's eating disorder.

So, there we have the psychological and genetic risk-factors and the environmental ones, not to mention the ignored cry for help and the implied societal pressures of being a woman at all, let alone a young woman who is growing into a performer on the world stage.

Then there's the substance abuse.

Winehouse was notorious for her alcohol abuse even early on in her career, and her addictions to crack cocaine and heroin were spurred by her damaging, abusive relationship with eventual-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, whose betrayal spawned the creative high-point during which Winehouse penned all of the breakup-inspired Back to Black.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association, "research suggests that nearly 50% of individuals with an eating disorder (ED) are also abusing drugs and/or alcohol, a rate 5 times greater than what is seen in the general population." Many people with eating disorders use substances as a form of appetite suppression, while "in other cases, eating disorders and substance abuse can be relied upon for avoidance-based coping." Additionally they note that "substance abuse can develop before, during, or after treatment for an eating disorder," and that reliance on drugs and alcohol is "both ineffective and counterproductive in that emotions remain unaddressed, problems go unresolved, and healthy strategies to cope are not developed."

Winehouse's many visits to treatment centers and her many attempts to go clean all center on recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, but they seemingly never address the comorbid eating disorder, despite the fact that it was ruinous to her health and was the disease she had been suffering from for the longest amount of time.

At one point, Amy's manager and others she's working with even draw up a contract that she must sign, stating that they won't allow her to attend any events for the Grammy Awards-she was nominated for six-unless she gets and stays clean. At this point, she has already overdosed. She signs and obliges. She is clean during the Grammy Awards. No one in the film considers, mentions or perhaps had any real understanding that she could drop dead because of the severity of her eating disorder. It's a silent form of destruction, and so it is, tragically, often not considered a "disease" worth treating.

Indeed, even after her death, those in the media were seen expressing resentment at the way Winehouse suffered in public, rather than feeling regretful for participating in the circus that amplified and intensified her diseases. Douglas Wolk, in his review of At the BBC, calls the album "a stinging reminder that she spent the better part of her too-brief career making her audience complicit in her self-destruction." Yet, extreme fame and media coverage, caretakers who didn't take care of her, and the aggressive demands of audiences were complicit in her self-destruction.

In early videos, we see Winehouse denigrating her appearance and hiding from the camera. She's still a huge personality, but when she's applying makeup, she criticizes her spotty skin, her face. When, after having been asleep in a car with no makeup on, the singer discovers that she's being filmed, she hides behind blankets and refuses to be seen. She's in her late teens in these videos, and those familiar with the signs will see on her face the trademark swollen salivary glands of someone who repeatedly self-induces vomiting. A regular viewer, however, might notice nothing except that she's shy.

Over the course of perhaps two years, roughly gauging based on the footage included in the film, a bulimic Winehouse winnows herself down from the type of figure commonly seen on the sidewalk to the type of figure commonly seen on a red carpet.

In one interview, Winehouse's former bodyguard recounts how close they were. She used to tell him all the things a young girl might talk to a parental figure about-including worries such as why she no longer gets her period and secrets like the fact that she can never have children. Amenorrhea, the absence of menstruation, and infertility are both symptoms of a severe eating disorder, and amenorrhea in particular is used as a factor in the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. Not so with bulimia nervosa; the two diseases share many of the same symptoms, including the loss of a menstrual period, but this is not a diagnostic criteria for bulimia, the reason being that, again, those with bulimia are rarely severely underweight.

During Winehouse's "clean" period, when she is living in St. Lucia and is not abusing drugs but is still drinking large amounts of alcohol, the press jumped on her "recovery" and crafted it into a redemption story. The whispers of her bulimia were allowed to be more directly addressed now that she was ostensibly "better," and this coverage reveals in yet more ways how misunderstood eating disorders are.

One article in The Daily Mail contains photographs of Winehouse in St. Lucia, sporting a bloated stomach, which can accompany severe cases of eating disorders due to malnutrition and internal injury. In some of the photographs, she is eating, and one caption reads "Healthy appetite: Amy Winehouse looks well on the way to recovering her curves on a holiday on the Caribbean island of St Lucia."

The article includes quotes from a man Winehouse was seeing at the time, which indicate a very limited diet and extreme malnutrition, punctuated by occasions of bingeing and purging:

She lived off Crunchie bars-up to 10 at a time-packets of Haribo sweets and bottles of orange Lucozade Sport...She would have a massive McDonalds and then throw it all up in the bathroom. I found my toothbrush covered in sick, and asked her about it.

The inclusion of these details in the article reveal how morbidly fascinated society is with the gory details of eating disorders and how utterly misinformed we are about the facts of them. Photographs of a person with bulimia-who is known to eat large portions of fast food and then throw it up-"polishing off nearly a full plate of food" are not at all a sign of recovery, as they may well be bingeing on food that they will then purge.

One of the biggest challenges when attempting to treat a patient with an eating disorder is the fact that EDs are egosyntonic, that is, the patient views the eating disorder as being in harmony with the rest of his/her personality and ego-it is an acceptable and positive part of the self. Many sufferers don't want to get better.

According to Psychiatric Times (and anyone who has ever had an eating disorder), "Patients with eating disorders are notoriously difficult to treat and are also known to have high relapse rates." This can be attributed to a number of factors-many of which have been addressed earlier in this piece-such as the facts that: eating disorders are misunderstood, the treatment of them is incomplete, the doctor and patient do not address the core issues at play, and of course, the disease itself is egosyntonic.

There's substantial evidence in the film that Amy wanted to receive treatment for her drug and alcohol addictions, such as a moment when she muses that she likes it in the rehab center, as well as her willingness to sign her managerial ultimatum. None exists, at least not in the film or any documents I've found online, that suggests she felt the same about treating her eating disorder. And this is not surprising. She started the behaviors when she was a teenager, was not discouraged when she revealed her eating disorder to her parents, and continued the behaviors into an adulthood that demanded a very specific body type, which would be picked apart by literally billions of witnesses.

Eating disorders are hard to handle. They're extremely difficult to treat, have high rates of relapse, are often invisible and rarely impugn on a sufferer's ability to carry on a normal life, are often kept a secret, have causes and effects that are consistently misunderstood, and are rarely cited as an actual cause of death.

Amy Winehouse's official cause of death was alcohol poisoning, but this can be understood as the equivalent of someone with AIDS who has died of complications from pneumonia. Similar to the way HIV compromises a body's ability to fight infections, bulimia damages the body to the point where it is no longer able to keep up basic functions and is more susceptible to external threats.

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders describes this phenomenon thusly:

Although eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder, the mortality rates reported on those who suffer from eating disorders can vary considerably between studies and sources. Part of the reason why there is a large variance in the reported number of deaths caused by eating disorders is because those who suffer from an eating disorder may ultimately die of heart failure, organ failure, malnutrition or suicide. Often, the medical complications of death are reported instead of the eating disorder that compromised a person's health.

A doctor interviewed in the film describes Winehouse's death as a combination of alcohol poisoning and the weakened state of her body due to an eating disorder, but that assertion never made it into the official "cause of death" statement released to the public after Winehouse's passing.

The impact of such technically accurate but holistically incomplete reporting is that the general population is not conditioned to perceive eating disorders-especially bulimia-as deadly.
Had Winehouse's cause of death included the phrase "complications from bulimia," the world would likely-or hopefully-have begun to engage in some very different, more complete conversations about health. The more our body-obsessed culture acknowledges the realities of eating disorders, the more we can hope to put the world on a path to a better and more accurate understanding of this devastating set of diseases, as well as the illnesses' unique, complex sufferers. The unwillingness to truly regard Amy Winehouse's eating disorder shows that we still have a long way to go.

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We Need to Talk About Amy Winehouse's Eating Disorder and Its Role In Her Death

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There is a tacitly accepted set of rules that our culture follows when it comes to women in the spotlight. They are required to be thin. They do not eat a normal diet and that in and of itself is seen as normal, not even dangerous.

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I was lucky enough to see Amy Winehouse in person many times - not in concert, or at some club, but at the London Clinic where she was being treated for health and addiction problems.

It was late 2009, and I was there supporting my father who was being treated for terminal cancer. So I'd spend hours there, waiting for scans and MRIs and hanging around in coffee shops nearby.

I remember the first day I saw Amy. She walked in wearing one of her flamboyant dresses, tied with a bright bow and her signature beehive hairdo. She was on the skinny side, a wisp, and a shrimp of a girl at 5'2". I assumed that the world of music and celebrity were taking a toll, and yet she looked vibrant and jokey. Even in her fragile state, she lit up the room. It was hard to imagine this was the same girl from the papers, the one the media loved to ridicule. Little did I know, she was struggling with an eating disorder, much like I had. And despite her bounciness and radiance, I saw a troubled look in her eyes. I saw a lost little girl. My dad leaned over and whispered, 'How could someone so young with so much talent be suffering so much?' He was right about her suffering. She passed away just 18 months later. And in a way, I saw a part of myself in her. Maybe, we all do.

One of the revelations in the new documentary about her life, Amy, is that she struggled with bulimia from her mid-teens onwards. Watching the film, I began to make sense of the tension between who we all thought she was, and who she actually wanted to be. Legend would have it that Amy was a drug crazed hedonist, who died of an overdose. But she didn't die from toxic substances. The problem was deeper.

At 15, Amy told her parents that she had found her 'perfect' diet: eating whatever she wanted and then throwing up afterwards. Amy's parents thought this teenage phase would pass, but it continued to plague and weaken her until she died at 27. I could relate to Amy: I was borderline anorexic and I know now that it had nothing to do with food. An eating disorder was ultimately my way of punishing myself for not feeling like I was good enough.

In a 2007 documentary: I Told You I Was Trouble, Amy says, 'I'm quite an insecure person. I'm very insecure about the way I look. I mean, I'm a musician I'm not a model.' Amy lacked self-esteem, as do many. And while this was often a rich source of inspiration for her music, it ultimately ruined her. I also suffered from low confidence as a teenager partly due to my oversensitive nature and partly due to the bitchy atmosphere at school. I was bullied and didn't truly believe in myself. And that absence of resilience sadly leads to problems later on in life.

According to the charity BEAT, 1 in 85 people in the UK struggle with an eating disorder, which is most common in girls age 12 to 20. My own issues with eating kicked in when I was 19 living in Paris during my year abroad surrounded by housemates who were obsessed with their weight. We lived off spinach and espressos -there is an immense pressure in France to look the part, which is elegant and slim. I fell into the trap. What started as a silly fad turned into a habit. It lasted 5 years on and off and it peaked when I fell into an unhealthy relationship. He was a lot older than me, and I was in awe of his intelligence so I allowed him to dominate me. Fear of upsetting him, speaking out, or being 'wrong' always got the better of me until I finally walked away.

Amy's poor sense of self-worth is also reflected in her highly toxic relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil. Blake treated Amy badly because when you don't value yourself, you feel you deserve horrible treatment deep down. When you are filled with self-loathing, you cannot accept love. And so you choose to be badly treated instead.

I was lucky, my Dad helped to snap me out of my eating disorder. One lunch-time at a pizzeria, I ordered sliced tomatoes, while he and my sister had opted for huge Four Seasons pizzas. The sight of my plate made my dad cry. And the sight of that was enough for me to wake up to the sorry state I was in.

But, Amy didn't get that break and her addictions went from bad to worse: coke, crack and heroin. Her body was too ravaged by years of making herself sick to sustain any more abuse.

Bulimia and anorexia are still taboo. Choosing not to ingest food can be perceived as a capricious act or a passing fad. That is exactly what happened to Amy. Parents often don't know how to react. They feel to blame and cannot see the way out of the tunnel. Doctors can help but eating disorders are still not a priority and the waiting time for a specialist appointment is 9 months minimum (on average). If Amy had a more acceptable sickness the community would have been campaigning for her in the streets. Instead the media mocked her skinny frame and presenters made jokes about her launching a cookery book. Her close circle tried to intervene but by then it was too late.

Could we have saved her? In interviews, she's said many times that her music was her salvation. I started writing when my Dad died and then I wrote my first book when I saw a girl who looked like I once did. All gawky and awkward, and to me it was ugly. That little girl could have been Amy, it could be have been many girls.

Amy's music is a massive legacy, it touches our hearts, but she also left behind something even more important. She is a reminder, a witness to all of us to take better care of ourselves, to get help when we need it, and to intervene when we see the struggle in someone else.

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-Words: Elizabeth Kesses

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Amy Winehouse, An Eating Disorder, and Me

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I was lucky enough to see Amy Winehouse in person many times - not in concert, or at some club, but at the London Clinic where she was being treated for health and addiction problems. It was late 2009, and I was there supporting my father who was being treated for terminal cancer.

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Winehouse's coverage in the British press has been widely criticked. Both during her life and after her death, the media attempted to construct Winehouse as a spectacle to be watched by the audience as they witnessed her downfall and death first hand. Hearsum (2012), explains how her life and death was 'broadcast, mediated and much distorted through the lens of the press' (p. 182), shaping the public perspective of her, whilst encouraging them to follow her story and witness more of her reckless behaviour.

Extracts from the Daily Mirror and The Sun highlight British tabloids involvement in Winehouse's life, using negative language such as 'nosedive to oblivion' and 'cry for help' to frame Winehouse as an out of control victim who could not be saved.

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Paul Willis, Special to CNNcnnAuthor = “By Paul Willis, Special to CNN”;

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The discovery of Amy Winehouse’s body at her London home gave Rupert Murdoch and his clan a brief respite from an avalanche of bad press, supplanting the phone-hacking scandal that had remained the lead story for weeks in British newspapers and TV shows.

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Winehouse's iconic style is an important part of her star identity. Drawing inspiration from 1950s style with her beehive hair and 'retro rockability' outfits, she curated a look which was unique to her. She particularly adapted this style during the Back to Black era, developing her original look while she lived in Camden, favouring retro silhouette dresses for performances and appearances, while her off duty look consisted of skinny jeans paired with tank tops. It is interesting to note here how she expresses her femininity through clothing, make-up and hair, whilst always adding an element of imperfection reflecting her masculine 'rock and roll' lifestyle.

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Amy Winehouse Will Forever Be the Queen of Retro Rockabilly Style

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A look back on the late singer’s inimitable wardrobe.

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10 years after her death, Winehouse's style continues to influence other celebrities, as singer Dua Lipa is pictured her paying homage to Winehouse wearing a dress styled in a similar way to her 2007 outfit. Long after her death, Winehouse's unique style is instantly recognisable- highlighting her long lasting star image

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Dua Lipa appeared to pay tribute to music icon Amy Winehouse's iconic 2007 BRIT Awards look when she attended the ceremony on Tuesday.

The three-time nominee, 25, hit the red carpet at the 2021 BRIT Awards in sensational, head-turning style with a beehive hairstyle and a thigh-scraping yellow Vivienne Westwood Couture corset minidress.

The look was strikingly similar to Amy's canary yellow gown by Preen - she picked up the Best Female Solo Artist gong at the 2007 event.

Her flattering frock of choice boasted a deep plunging neckline, patterned print and a dramatic purple hued train, which descended from her cinched waist.

Adding racy details, the chart-topping singer wore black suspenders and lace-up statement purple platform heels.

Dua oozed Hollywood glamour as she styled her signature raven locks into a beehive hairdo and added a slick of radiant makeup.

The London-born beauty further complemented her glamorous ensemble with a triple row pearl necklace with a matching bracelet and earrings.

...NOW GET THE LOOK

She appeared in great spirits as she posed up a storm on the star-studded red carpet and playfully smiled with a life-size BRIT Award.

Amy tragically passed away aged 27 on the 23 July 2011 after being found dead in her bed due to alcohol poisoning.

In an explosion of colour and optimism, the 2021 BRIT Awards celebrated the achievements of British and international artists over the last 18 months.

And the awards ceremony truly belonged to Dua, as the evening saw her scoop the accolade for Female Solo Artist and the Mastercard British Album of the Year Award for her lockdown hit Future Nostalgia.

This year's Rising Star award winner Griff was handed the baton for the honour by 2020's Rising Star winner Celeste, who herself was up for three further awards.

And Arlo Parks was crowned Breakthrough Artist, one of the three awards the star was nominated for, after what has been an incredible year for the young London artist.

She also made her debut BRITs performance with an elegant rendition of Hope and decorated the set as a sunflower field in a nod to the name of her debut album.

The most nominated girl band in BRIT Award history, Little Mix, finally bagged the title of British Group and made history as the first-ever girl band to win, having been up for the award three previous times.

Meanwhile, the International Group category followed a similar suit, with the California girlband HAIM in attendance to accept their award.

And the accolade for International Female was given to the 19-year-old Bad Guy hitmaker Billie Eilish, who accepted the award via a pre-recorded video acceptance speech.

The Weeknd emerged victorious in the International Male Solo Artist category with his award presented by the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

The Blinding Lights hitmaker treated the audience to an unforgettable performance of his single Save Your Tears, pre-recorded from the US.

Dem Boy Paigon hitmaker JHUS scooped the Male Solo Artist award, which was accepted on his behalf by DJ Semtex in his absence.

Following a successful awards season stateside, One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles scooped Best British Single with his summertime track Watermelon Sugar.

The first female artist to win the highest BRITs accolade and the UK's biggest selling artist of the year to date, Taylor Swift appeared in person to accept the special Global Icon award, which was presented by Game Of Thrones actress Maisie Williams.

Each winner was presented with the BRITs' first-ever collaborative double-trophy, designed by Es Devlin OBE and Yinka Ilori MBE, with each recipient encouraged to re-gift the smaller trophy to someone else.

How did BRIT Awards go ahead during the Covid pandemic?

The 2021 BRIT Awards marked the first live music event in the UK since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The indoor ceremony and live show formed part of the Government's scientific Events Research Programme.

Enhanced testing approaches will examine how events can take place without the need for social distancing after all restrictions are lifted on June 21.

4,000 tickets were made available for the live ceremony, just one fifth of the venue's 20,000 capacity, with 2,500 of those being given to key workers.

The BRITs will play an important role in paving the way for the return of live music at scale as the UK emerges from the past year's restrictions.

Audience members were not socially distanced or required to wear face coverings once seated inside the arena, though they were required in communal areas such as the toilet or main concourse.

All attendees were allowed to purchase alcohol and concessions once inside the O2 Arena.

Attendees were also required to follow existing Government guidance when travelling to the venue and adhere to rules set out by the event organisers.

Among the rules, attendees had to provide proof of a negative lateral flow test result to enter the venue, and said test had to be taken at an asymptomatic testing site within 36 hours of the ceremony.

Upon arrival at the venue, all attendess were asked to take a PCR test, and will then take another test five days after the ceremony

It's hoped this will gather further evidence on the safety of indoor settings, reduced social distancing and the removal of non-pharmaceutical interventions like face coverings.

The 2021 BRIT Awards, hosted by Jack Whitehall, marked the first major indoor music event in over a year as bosses released 2,500 free tickets to key workers.

The show saw a total of 11 awards handed out alongside nine unbeatable show-stopping performances, six of which were able to be staged live in stadium.

The show officially opened with fireworks and a UK exclusive performance by Coldplay of their new song Higher Power from the River Thames.

The BRITs is known for its unique collaborations and this year was no different, with Elton John and Years & Years' Olly Alexander joining forces for a spectacular performance of the Pet Shop Boys' classic It's A Sin.

The recorded version of the song will now be available to purchase as a single in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation charity.

A second collaboration saw Rag'n'Bone Man and P!nk perform their new single Anywhere Away from Here, with P!nk joining remotely from the US.

And the musical duo were joined by special guest singers from the Greenwich and Lewisham NHS Trust Choir, providing an emotional climax to the show.

Another US star who made it to The O2 was Olivia Rodrigo who lit up the stage with a performance of her stunning hit single, Drivers Licence.

Twice nominated Headie One also blew the audience away with a special performance of Ain't It Different/Princess Cuts, joined by fellow nominees AJ Tracey and Young T & Bugsey.

Presenters on the night included: Annie Mac, Boy George, Celeste, Lewis Capaldi, Kurupt FM and Mabel.

The event was Co-Chaired by Rebecca Allen (President EMI Records) and Selina Webb (EVP Universal Music UK), who oversaw the creative team which along with Devlin and Ilori also included BRITs TV Executive Producer Sally Wood.

The BRIT Awards took place in front of a live audience of 4,000 people at London's The O2 six days before the next phase of lockdown lifts.

The ceremony, which was broadcasted live on ITV, celebrated the return to live music and Dua Lipa promised those attending that it would 'be a night to remember'.

The indoor ceremony and live show formed part of the Government's scientific Events Research Programme, and used enhanced testing approaches to examine how events can take place without the need for social distancing after all restrictions are lifted on June 21.

Working closely with the Government to adhere to safety guidelines, The BRITs was the first live music show at The O2 in over a year, with 4,000 tickets being up for grabs - just one fifth of the venue's 20,000 capacity

The BRITs played an important role in paving the way for the return of live music at scale as the UK emerges from the past year's restrictions.

Audience members were not socially distanced or required to wear face coverings in the arena, but were required to follow existing Government guidance when travelling to the venue and adhere to rules set out by the event organisers.

Among the rules, attendees had to have proof of a negative lateral flow test result to enter the venue.

As part of the wider scientific research on the trial events, attendees were also asked to take a test after the event to gather further evidence on the safety of indoor settings, reduced social distancing and the removal of non-pharmaceutical interventions like face coverings.

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BRIT Awards 2021: Dua Lipa steals the show in couture minidress

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Dua Lipa appeared to pay tribute to music icon Amy Winehouse's iconic 2007 BRIT Awards look when she attended the ceremony on Tuesday. The three-time nominee, 25, hit the red carpet at the 2021 BRIT Awards in sensational, head-turning style with a beehive hairstyle and a thigh-scraping yellow Vivienne Westwood Couture corset minidress.

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Amy Winehouse fans gather to pay tribute on 10th anniversary of singer’s death

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It’s been 10 years since the singer died.

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Tributes left for Winehouse following her death (2011)

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Tributes left for Winehouse following her death (2011)

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Amy Winehouse ''It Was a Piece Of Shit!''

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Amy Winehouse Final Performance, Belgrade (2011)

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Amy Winehouse Final Performance, Belgrade (2011)

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In Winehouse's final official performance, she appears looking dishevelled, concerning many of her fans. It is evident that Winehouse is in need of help.

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Amy Winehouse at the Sylvia Young Theatre School (1998)

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Amy Winehouse at the Sylvia Young Theatre School (1998)

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Amy Winehouse's singing talent was recognised from an early age, as she attended the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School and the Brit School. In 2009 Sylvia Young described Winehouse as 'always daydreaming' and 'very outspoken', characteristics which are reflected in her identity during her life, throughout interviews and TV appearances. Winehouse left school despite being extremely bright, demonstrating her instability and erratic behaviour from a young age.

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Amy Winehouse singing in Sylvia Young Theatre School [1998]

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Winehouse's first album, described by herself as a 'straight jazz' album represents her love for the 60s soul music she grew up with in a powerful and deep manner, as she expresses her disappointment and regret in her relationships- themes which occur throughout her entire discography.

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An interesting comparison can be made between the media representation of Winehouse compared to male celebrities such as Pete Doherty and Russell Brand, who were also scrutinised by the press for their drug abuse scandals, relationship problems and legal troubles. Whereas male celebrities are hailed as 'rock and roll' heroes for their chaotic lifestyle, Winehouse is reduced to either a female victim or a 'trainwreck', highlighting the difference in gender representation of celebrities in the music industry. Berkers and Eeckelaer (2012) explore how music journalists justify male rockstars actions, compared to female stars who are framed as out of control and victimised for expressing similar behaviours.

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Amy Winehouse's unmistakable voice, confessional lyrics and iconic look, made her one of the music world's most beloved artists.

Discover the story of Amy's early career through her recordings and teenage notebooks to unravel the creative process behind her music, and pay tribute to her rich range of influences, from Dinah Washington to Mark Ronson, Camden to '60s pop, Motown to jazz.​

Explore the outfits she wore during her greatest performances, handwritten lyrics and personal items that have never been exhibited before, including her blue Daphne Fender Stratocaster guitar, to step backstage with a cultural icon that the world lost too soon.​

The exhibition has been organised by the Design Museum in collaboration with The Estate of Amy Winehouse which is waiving its right to royalties in favour of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

The exhibition has been kindly supported by John & María Pfeffer.

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Amy Winehouse's unmistakable voice, confessional lyrics and iconic look, made her one of the music world's most beloved artists.

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Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson is set to bring an Amy Winehouse biopic to the screen after years of thwarted attempts.

The film, expected to be called Back to Black, will explore the rise and tragic death of the singer, who was a close friend of Taylor-Johnson. A script is reported to be circulating with casting in early stages.

It's being made with the full support of the singer's estate, including her father, Mitch Winehouse, who was outspoken over his critique of Asif Kapadia's Oscar-winning 2015 documentary, Amy. He called it "horrible" in an interview with the Guardian, expressing anger over the makers painting him in "the worst possible light".

The family had initially partnered with the producers Alison Owen and Debra Hayward in 2018 for the project. It was reported at the time that proceeds from the film would benefit the Amy Winehouse Foundation. "We now feel able to celebrate Amy's extraordinary life and talent," Mitch said in a statement. "And we know through the Amy Winehouse Foundation that the true story of her illness can help so many others who might be experiencing similar issues."

A biopic starring Noomi Rapace as Winehouse was touted in 2015 but failed to materialise.

When talking about who should play the singer in 2018, Mitch said: "I wouldn't mind betting it would be an unknown, young, English - London, cockney - actress who looks a bit like Amy."

Taylor-Johnson's first feature film was the John Lennon drama Nowhere Boy, before she brought Fifty Shades of Grey to the screen. It made over $560m at the global box office but also scored Taylor-Johnson a Razzie nomination for worst director. She followed it up with the Naomi Watts series Gypsy, which was cancelled after one season at Netflix, and an adaptation of James Frey's controversial book A Million Little Pieces.

Owen and Hayward's credits include Elizabeth and How to Build a Girl.

Winehouse broke out with her debut album, Frank, in 2003 before receiving global acclaim, and Grammy awards, for her follow-up, Back to Black, in 2006. She died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.

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Sam Taylor-Johnson to direct authorised Amy Winehouse biopic

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Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson is set to bring an Amy Winehouse biopic to the screen after years of thwarted attempts. The film, expected to be called Back to Black, will explore the rise and tragic death of the singer, who was a close friend of Taylor-Johnson.

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Doyle, S (2016) Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear . . . and Why

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Doyle, S (2016) Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear . . . and Why

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Doyle (2016), explores the concept of the 'trainwreck' female celebrity, a narrative which often appears when discussing female celebrities facing a public meltdown. Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Lily Allen are further examples of stars who have experienced intense media scrutiny and invasion into their personal lives. In the case of Winehouse, following her unstable relationship with Fielder-Civil and her fall into heavy drug abuse, she is hounded by the press seeking to report on her 'impending doom' (p.1). The downfall of Winehouse was widely reported, and in later years the intensity of her media treatment was criticised and even blamed for her death, as many people claimed that this caused her to spiral further into addiction. Further research demonstrates a correlation between Winehouse and other young female celebrities; Hopkins (2018), suggests that female stars are reduced from 'visible, successful and self-empowered women to their supposed deficiencies, failures and forbidding otherness' (p.153). This is especially evident in the case of Winehouse as she gains global fame, the press focuses less on her musical talent, and emphasises her struggles- demonstrating the media and public fascination of the 'monstrous', out of control female.

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Amy Movie CLIP - In the Studio With Mark Ronson (2015) - Amy Winehouse Documentary HD

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After a brief romance with a radio executive, Fielder-Civil came back into Winehouse's life, and they were married from 2007 to 2009. Fielder-Civil admits introducing Winehouse to heroin, crack cocaine and self-harming. During this time the couple had many violent fights which were reported on by the press. Winehouse's relationship with Fielder-Civil played a huge part in her evolving star identity, as it is evident in later interviews and photographs that she had been heavily impacted by this marriage.

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Winehouse was arrested numerous times, representing her 'trainwreck' image which was scrutinised by the press.

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Amy Winehouse has been arrested following her appointment with police over the assault of two men. The singer arrived at Holborn police station at 5.10pm this afternoon to be questioned over events that took place in the early hours of Wednesday April 23.

It is not yet clear what those charges are, however her spokesman confirmed that the singer was questioned over incidents in which she is alleged to have headbutted one man and punched another in the face.

The Sun published an account of the evening's events yesterday, claiming that as well as assaulting two members of the public, the singer overturned tables in a pub and shouted that she "wanted to do drugs". She was pictured drinking with Babyshambles guitarist Mick Whitnall.

The news of her arrest comes on the same day as her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, appeared in court on charges of GBH and perverting the course of justice. The 24-year-old singer was also arrested last year in connection with that case, but was not charged. Prior to that, she was arrested in Norway for possession of cannabis.

It was also revealed today that Winehouse's personal fortune stands at £10m, making her one of the top ten earning young British musicians, according to the Sunday Times' young music millionaires list. Her multi award-winning second album Back to Black has sold more than 9m copies worldwide.

An official statement released earlier today by her spokesman read: "Amy Winehouse will be voluntarily attending a London police station today by appointment with the police. We understand she will be questioned in connection to an alleged incident in Camden in the early hours of April 23, 2008."

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Amy Winehouse has been arrested following her appointment with police over the assault of two men. The singer arrived at Holborn police station at 5.10pm this afternoon to be questioned over events that took place in the early hours of Wednesday April 23.

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Amy Winehouse has been arrested in connection with alleged drug offences and interviewed at an East London police station.

Her spokesman confirmed that the singer was interviewed during a pre-arranged interview earlier today. Scotland Yard confirm that a 24-year-old woman has been arrested over the possession of drugs in connection with footage handed to police by News International on January 24th.

The footage, as published in the Sun newspaper at the beginning of the year, purported to show Winehouse smoking crack cocaine.

This arrest is the latest in a series for the Back to Black singer. Winehouse was arrested earlier this month over two allegations of assault following a night out in Camden, north London. She was released with a caution. She was also arrested and fined for possession of cannabis in Norway earlier this year.

Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil is currently in prison on remand, awaiting trial on charges of GBH and perverting the course of justice.
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Amy Winehouse has been arrested in connection with alleged drug offences and interviewed at an East London police station. Her spokesman confirmed that the singer was interviewed during a pre-arranged interview earlier today. Scotland Yard confirm that a 24-year-old woman has been arrested over the possession of drugs in connection with footage handed to police by News International on January 24th.

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Winehouse appears shocked as her team celebrates her Grammy award win. Her humble personality was loved by many, adding a layer of authenticity to her image.

In an interview following one of her performances, Winehouse describes her show as 'a piece of shit', highlighting her self-deprecating humour and funny personality.

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Watch Amy Winehouse Win Record Of The Year For "Rehab" In 2008 | GRAMMY Rewind

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Amy Winehouse On Individuality | MTV Vault

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In an era of boy bands and girl bands, Winehouse's unique jazz voice and retro style stood out from the crowd. Her individuality played a huge part in her star identity, as she embraced her originality throughout her career.

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Amy Winehouse: Live at the Torrington 2003