Amy Winehouse

by Chas Newkey-Burden

  Paolo Hewitt has some sympathy for Amy, who he believes would have had a far more pleasant ride with the press had she been born several decades earlier. ‘Bob Dylan was probably doing just as much gear as Amy but the press just weren’t on it,’ he says. ‘The Beatles and everybody were going ballistic but there was a gentleman’s agreement that you didn’t report that side of things. When Hunter Davies wrote about the Beatles in the sixties, although there were orgies of debauchery going on, none of it surfaced in the biography because you just didn’t report that kind of thing. Amy is unfortunate in that she lives in a media-obsessed age. If she’d have come along in the 1960s, we’d just be talking about her music. That’s what’s been lost because of all this media attention. Instead, it’s “Amy Winehouse the drug addict” and “Amy Winehouse the broken wife of Blake Fielder-Civil”. It’s not “Amy Winehouse, what a fucking great artist!” I think that’s a shame.’

  However, Hewitt’s sympathy is not without reservations. He wonders whether she has more of an active role to play in all the drama than people might believe. ‘She has contributed to that. I don’t think she’s completely innocent in all of this. I wonder how it is that a photographer happens to be there at half-five in the morning as she emerges from her house in her bra. I don’t get that; how did that happen? She seems to be very complicit in this. It’s like the fight her and Blake had at the Sanderson Hotel. If you’re going to have a fight, have it at home with the doors shut. This playing her dramas out in public is not a healthy thing. It detracts from what is important, which is her music.’ Mark Simpson, asked by the author if he believes Winehouse engineers her troubles for publicity, said: ‘If they are engineered, then she deserves much more sympathy – and respect – than if they were unplanned.’

  She may have looked upset as she stumbled around Bow, but she had decided to move home to that neighbourhood after concluding that her previous home in Camden had too many bad memories, including a drug overdose and numerous memories of Blake. During the move, a ‘rather suspicious bag of white stuff’ was photographed in the car boot by the London Lite newspaper. ‘In response to photos published in the London Lite of “white stuff” in the back of the car in which Amy Winehouse was driven in, [the items in the bag] are in fact the driver’s hand towels,’ said a statement from Amy’s camp. ‘Any implication or suggestion otherwise would be unfair.’

  As with the YouTube video, it was obvious to anyone with decent eyesight that the photograph was not of drugs. Once ensconced in her new Bow home, Amy was visited by friends, including Sadie Frost. ‘Sadie arrived looking very serious like she was visiting a patient,’ an onlooker told the London Paper. ‘It didn’t really seem like a social call.’

  The tabloids were by this time running wildly conflicting reports about Amy’s health. Some had her in rehab and clean, others had her on drug binges, losing all her teeth. ‘Amy is still using drugs when Blake’s in prison,’ said a source. ‘She’s using more cocaine and heroin now than ever. She can’t stop crying and keeps saying all she wants is peace. She’s not eating or sleeping properly and is in pieces.

  ‘Amy is very upset about her teeth because they have literally been falling out,’ a source said. ‘She has one missing from the front of her mouth, and another one at the back, which is less visible. Her mouth is full of holes and she’s desperately worried she’s going to lose more. She’s actually pulled a tooth out herself, which is absolutely disgusting.’

  Only hours before Amy had wandered the streets of London in her bra, her friend Pete Doherty had dedicated a song to her during a Babyshambles concert in Glasgow. Before the band launched into the anthemic song ‘Down in Albion’, Doherty said, ‘She’s a great girl and this song is for her.’ Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher of Oasis was also speaking out in her defence. He said, ‘She plays with fire, you get burnt. That’s the way it goes. If she knows what she’s doing’s not good then she needs to back up a bit. She’s young. I’d probably be doing the same thing – except twice the drugs. I’m sure she’ll grow out of it.’ Asked about her music, the normally savage and critical Gallagher said, ‘It’s all right. I like that “Rehab”. I’ve just heard stuff on TV. She’s good.’

  Liam’s hero, the Beatle Ringo Starr, also came out for Amy. ‘God bless Amy. She’s a great talent and she’s going through a situation right now. The good news is that there’s more help around now than before.’ Then came support from Mary J Blige, who said of Amy and Britney Spears, ‘They’re human beings, and they’re young, in a business that doesn’t give a hoot about you. It’s just sad. I hate to see any of these females go through it. I was young, and I did dumb stuff – I was doing worse than that.’

  Most worried were Amy’s parents. Mitchell said, ‘I’m very concerned for Amy’s welfare. She’s very, very tired. She’s sorry to have let the fans down. She needs professional help.’ Referring to Amy’s brother, he added, ‘We’re a strong family unit and the bond between Amy and Alex is unshakeable. He’s always there for her. He’s very protective of her and always will be. He doesn’t like seeing her hurt or upset. He’s upset by the current criticism of Amy, as we all are, and has asked her critics to be a bit more understanding in view of her youth.’

  With Blake’s imprisonment and Amy’s erratic tour performances making the couple an obsession for the tabloid press, it was inevitable that Blake’s mother would speak out. It was reported that Georgette Civil said that she was ‘delighted’ that her son was in prison and also claimed that he too felt it was for the best. ‘Blake’s more focused now than he has been in years,’ she said. ‘He’s finally taking responsibility for his behaviour, too, and accepts that he and Amy are totally responsible for the mess they’re in. Now he’s using the time in prison to overcome his drug habit.’ She revealed that her son spent his time in prison exercising and reading.

  Civil also tried to bring to the public’s attention the ‘true’ Blake. ‘Looking at him all dishevelled, gaunt and unkempt, it’s hard to remember the bright teenager who won a place at a great local school, who had so much promise.

  ‘It was hugely upsetting to see my son portrayed as some sort of monster who was accused of supplying his wife with heroin and cocaine and I worried terribly that someone would harm Blake as a result. Then there are my two other sons, aged fourteen and fifteen, whose hearts are breaking seeing their big brother being portrayed like this.’

  Georgette Civil concluded of Blake, ‘He wants her to feel as if they’re still sharing life and he’s with her every day. Blake thinks that if Amy has a little thing to do for him each day that’ll propel her on, give her something to work towards and get her out of bed in the morning.’

  Meanwhile, reports of Amy’s emotional state varied wildly. One report had her making admiring small talk over Big Brother contestant Chantelle Houghton’s breasts at a newsagent’s. ‘Look at Chantelle’s tits – I want a pair like that!’ Amy is said to have told fellow shoppers.

  ‘Chantelle’s boob job obviously made a big impression on her,’ a source told the Daily Star. ‘Amy is desperate to make Blake happy and in her mixed-up mind having a boob op could be just the job.’ Mitchell meanwhile reported, ‘Amy was visited by a doctor last night. And we’re seeing to it that she’s monitored very carefully, every single day. So far we’re pleased with the way things are going. We’re keeping a very close eye on her.’

  Which was just as well, if the words of an unnamed friend of Amy’s were to be believed. The friend told a newspaper, ‘Amy’s had her problems but she’s really terrified this time. She’s teetering on the brink. She’s already hatched a suicide pact with Blake. If they’re both handed lengthy jail sentences she’s determined they’ll end it together rather than face years apart. She can’t live without Blake. Her family are worried sick.’

  The question of Amy’s being handed a lengthy jail sentence came about when she was arrested and questioned over the alleged bribery plot on suspicion of which her husband was already in custody. By this time
, as we have seen, Blake and five other men had been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, though denying all charges. Police then turned their attentions to Amy, confiscating her mobile-phone records, bank details and computer software. Officers also visited the singer’s accountants, the London-based firm Smallfield Cody, in an attempt to track her financial dealings.

  ‘A twenty-four-year-old woman has been bailed to return to an east London police station on a date in early March pending further enquiries,’ said a police spokesperson on Amy’s arrest. ‘She attended a police station voluntarily and at a pre-agreed time.’ A spokesman for Amy said, ‘She was arrested but that is common practice for someone being interviewed by police. There have been no charges and she has been released.’

  As for Blake, he was said to have been threatened by fellow inmates as part of a kidnap threat against Amy herself. A source said, ‘Blake’s petrified. He’s living in fear for Amy’s life and his own. At first he thought the guys in here were just trying their luck but the threats have got really bad. He’s now under no illusions and convinced they’ll go through with what they say.’

  The source added, ‘They’ve ordered Blake to pay the hundred grand into a secret bank account within the next few days or else… Amy will be snatched and harmed. She’s at her weakest right now, and what with her wandering the streets in the dead of night she’s at massive risk. Blake knows it’ll be easy to bundle her off in a car without anyone batting an eyelid.’

  Amy’s life was not made any easier when it was revealed that she had been summoned to appear in a Norwegian court due to her appeal of a fine for marijuana possession. Liv Karlsen, a spokeswoman for police in the Norwegian city of Bergen, explained that this was normal practice. ‘If one appeals a conviction, it’s the rule that one has to appear in person. So this is not surprising.’ Mitchell had already laid out the basis of Amy’s defence against this charge during his interview on the This Morning television programme, maintaining that Amy had unwittingly signed a confession document written in Norwegian, thinking it was a release form. Police prosecutor Rudolf Christoffersen insisted police were ‘very certain the three knew what they were signing and they paid the fine on the spot’.

  However, when she next boarded a plane it was not to Norway that Amy travelled but to Barbados, where she took a much-needed break. ‘Amy has been desperate to escape England and forget about her troubles for the past couple of months,’ said a friend. ‘But she didn’t want Blake to feel any more alone or abandoned than he already does, so she’s waited as long as possible before booking anywhere. Blake’s given her his full blessing, as he knows how stressed and out of sorts she’s been of late. The plan is for Amy to have a sunshine break, enjoy a few cocktails – and stay away from drugs.

  ‘She’s already made a few New Year’s resolutions and hopes the trip will become a turning point in her life. Amy wants 2008 to be a year of consolidation and, more than anything, for it to be trauma-free. She’s convinced that Blake will be cleared of all charges and is desperate for the couple to enjoy some regular marital stability.’

  Other famous people holidaying there at the time included Simon Cowell, Gary Lineker, Michael Winner and Sir Philip Green. A famous name who wasn’t in the Caribbean but was positive about Amy at this time was Kylie Minogue. The petite pop legend was asked what was on her iPod and replied, ‘A lot of English regulars of the moment, like Arctic Monkeys and the Klaxons. Oh, and Amy Winehouse, needless to say.’

  Also coming out in support of Amy at this time was Julie Burchill. She wrote in the Sun,

  I love Amy Winehouse, and I’m not at all shocked by her behaviour. We’ve been used for such a long time to singers who are ambition-led (Madonna and her hordes of pop-tart imitators) that we have forgotten how singers who are talent-led behave.

  Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday – for some reason, and it would take a genetic scientist to explain it, women who have a great talent for singing also have a great capacity for reckless behaviour. Whereas if your talent is a teeny-weeny sickly little thing – see Madonna and mates – then you have to behave the very opposite of recklessly in order to preserve it.

  While relaxing in the Caribbean, Amy reportedly decided to renew her wedding vows with Blake once she was back in the UK. ‘They’re missing each other terribly,’ said a friend. ‘Amy wants them to repeat the same vows they took when they originally tied the knot in a £60 ceremony in Miami last May.’

  Chapter Ten

  ONWARDS AND UPWARDS?

  Predictions of Amy’s future normally centre on one of two paths: a magical musical comeback, or a drug-fuelled sprint towards an early grave. Those closest to her know that a third way is just as likely. Once, during an interview, Amy was asked to describe herself in five words. She replied, ‘Driven, motivated, easygoing, maternal, alcoholic.’ She added, ‘I’m very maternal. In my circle of fifteen close friends, at least ten of them call me Mum. They text me and say, “Mummy, are you coming out tonight?”’

  But maternal Amy wants to be a mummy to more than her friends. She is keen to have children of her own. She says, ‘While I love music, I’d really love to have a family, and that’s the most important thing to me. That doesn’t mean I’m ready to start one right now, as I think I’ve got another album in me. In the long term I have more family plans. I’ve got to a point where I’ve made an album which I’m proud of. Now I need to follow that up, but to have kids as well. Then go to Vegas, open my own casino and perform there every night!’

  More maternal muttering was forthcoming when she was asked where she sees herself in 10 years time. ‘Well, I’ll have at least three beautiful kids,’ she replied. ‘I want to do at least four or five albums and I want to get them out of the way now. And then I want to take ten years out to go and have kids, definitely. I never used to be broody, but then I realised that I’m turning into a soppy bitch. Goodness in life comes from a sense of achievement and you’d get that from having a child and putting it before yourself.’

  She dreams of parenthood and of further albums, but more important than either of these aspirations for Amy must be regaining a sense of control over the chaos that has engulfed her life. With her drink and drug issues, together with Blake’s incarceration on remand, 2007 saw her challenged on many fronts. However, 2008 was to be just as dramatic for Amy and her husband. The central act of the drama came in July, when Blake and his friend Michael Brown both admitted grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice. Blake was sentenced to 27 months by the judge, who told him: ‘In joining in that attack by kicking out at Mr King after he had already been both punched and kicked by Mr Brown you behaved in a gratuitous, cowardly and disgraceful way’.

  Amy was not present at Snaresbrook Crown Court for the sentencing, but she had already offered her own commentary on the case in a typically bizarre manner. When she appeared at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday party at Hyde Park, she took to the stage to one of the loudest cheers of the night, and performed ‘Rehab’ and ‘Valerie’. She then left to more rapturous acclaim. But it was never going to be as simple as that. When she returned to the stage at the end of the night, to lead the entire ensemble through the Specials’ iconic hit ‘Free Nelson Mandela’, she gave the lyrics her own personal twist. ‘Freeeee, Blakey my fella,’ she sang over the chorus at one point. Jaws dropped across the park. Reaction was divided between those who thought it was little short of obscene for her to compare her drug-addled husband with one of the finest figures in human history on the occasion of his 90th birthday, and those who thought it was a moment of typical cheeky genius from Amy, whose wit had always equalled her musicianship.

  She then performed at a series of festivals, including Glastonbury, the Oxegen Festival, V, and T In The Park. During the course of these shows Amy served up her increasingly familiar live-performance cocktail: the wonderful, the weird and the wasted. The most dramatic moment came at Glastonbury when she appeared to punch a fan in the front row
of the audience. ‘You don’t even know how happy I am to be here tonight,’ she had earlier told the audience. Her happiness had clearly subsided when she lashed out at the fan. She topped off the night by spitting chewing gum into the crowd and calling rapper Kanye West a ‘c**t’. Thank you, and good night.

  This was almost the last that live audiences were to see of Amy for a while, because she had by this stage been diagnosed with emphysema according to her father. ‘Theres a small amount there which hasn’t gone too far and it’s completely repairable,’ said Mitch. He added that she would therefore be taking a break from live performances once her contractual obligations had been fulfilled. Mitch, who had by this time become something of a celebrity himself, was trying his hardest to bring some serenity into his daughter’s life.

  Meanwhile, Amy was once more appearing in media polls, both positively and negatively. For instance, she appeared in the NME’s 2008 Villain of the Year poll, but also in the same title’s Best Solo Artist and Best DVD polls. Glamour magazine named her the third-worst dressed British woman, but then Sky News viewers named her the second-greatest Ultimate Heroine. She had topped the voting among viewers under 25 years old. These polls are a mere selection of those she graced, and reflect perfectly the ‘love her or hate her, you can’t ignore her’ position Amy occupies in the public psyche.

  Her relationship with Blake has always been a mixed bag, too. When he was released from prison in November 2008, he checked straight into rehab in Surrey. Far from rushing to see him, Amy was instead photographed out and about in London, up to her normal late-night jolly japes. She failed to see him at all during his first month of freedom, even when he launched an (unsuccessful) bid to appeal against his conviction. The grapevine was soon abuzz with rumours that she was in the process of divorcing Blake. ‘It’s over. There’s no way back for us now,’ Amy is said to have told friends. ‘It was never going to last. I fancied him like mad, like no one else I’ve ever known. But it’s not enough, is it?’ Amy would have to travel far and wide to find anyone who believed she should stay with Blake. Soon after she prepared to dump Blake, he reportedly admitted in a taped interview to News of the World what many had long suspected: that he introduced Amy to hard drugs.