As a massive music fan, I was genuinely shocked and saddened to hear about the untimely death of Amy Winehouse on Saturday 23rd July at the age of just 27. Despite her questionable lifestyle choice, I had always hoped that she would win her battle with addiction eventually. Whatever you thought of Amy, there is no question that she had a raw talent as a singer and songwriter and the world has lost yet another amazing artist.

I was lucky enough to see Amy perform live in Manchester at the height of her career and while her demeanour was certainly erratic, that soulful voice of hers never wavered. I really hope that her goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield can pick up the torch and continue to shine for Amy. She certainly has the voice but hopefully none of the demons.

A good childhood friend of mine took a similar direction in life and was himself, ‘getting clean’ when his mother found his body. How do you ever get over that? My heart goes out to Amy’s family and friends who are all victims of her addiction. My only hope is that she will be remembered for the beautiful music she created rather than the tortured soul she became. With her Back To Black album hitting number 1 in the iTunes chart today, I certainly hope that will be the case.

 

The photographs above were taken in March 2011 as promotional shots for a new album.