HOLLYWOOD—Gone but not forgotten. Amy Winehouse died from accidental alcohol poisoning back in 2011. Fans chanted Amy Winehouse’s name as a stone bearing her name was unveiled on the Music Walk of Fame in Camden, north of London. The singer’s parents, Mitch and Janis, attended the ceremony, calling it a “tremendous accolade and a privilege.” Camden was the star’s main stomping ground and fans regularly pay their respects outside her former house. Amy loved Camden and truly a wonderful tribute to her.
Amy achieved international acclaim in 2006 with her second album “Back to Black,” winning multiple Brit and Grammy Awards. She subsequently struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, exacerbated by fierce media scrutiny and the imprisonment of her husband Blake Fielder-Civil on charges of assault and obstruction of justice. Having kicked drugs and started work on a third album, the star was found dead at her home in 2011. An inquest found the 27-year-old had died from accidental alcohol poisoning.
Her family has since set up a foundation in her name to help young people with problems including addiction. The unveiling of her plaque on the Music Walk of Fame on March 4, was followed by a fundraiser in aid of the charity. Mitch Winehouse said the work of the foundation had helped him “since Amy passed away.”
“Amy’s up there and she says to me, ‘Get out of bed, Dad, you’ve got work to do,'” he said. “It’s another legacy.” Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Mitch also hinted at plans to celebrate the star’s musical legacy in the coming months. “I can’t really elaborate, but we’ve got a movie and we’ve got a Broadway show,” according to published reports. “It’s all going to be announced in the near future.”
The former cab driver previously disowned the Oscar-winning documentary about Winehouse’s life and career, claiming director Asif Kapadia painted a “negative, spiteful and misleading” portrayal of his daughter. “That horrible film gives the impression that she was all on her own,” he said. “But she was surrounded by people who adored her and that’s what I want [fans] to understand.” Speaking in 2015, Kapadia insisted his film was “an honest representation of what we felt was going on around Amy.”
Mitch said the film he was planning would allow “people to know Amy how she really was.” “She was a joker, a practical joker,” he went on. “She loved music and being with her family and friends.” Mitch said the singer, who would have been 35 this year, was an “ordinary girl… with an extraordinary talent that even she didn’t understand.” “I talked to her about it and she’d say, ‘Dad, I don’t know how I can write a song like that.’ She didn’t have a clue. And I want people to understand that. Winehouse’s stone is the third to be unveiled on Camden’s recently established Music Walk of Fame, following earlier ones dedicated to The Who and Madness. Soul II Soul will be commemorated in a like fashion on March 5, ahead of the 6 Music festival which takes place in Camden over the weekend.
Amy’s legacy will live on. She supported a wide range of charities and organizations, particularly those working with disadvantaged children and young people. When she tragically passed away on July 23, 2011, aged only 27, it broke the hearts of not only her family and close friends, but of people across the world.
As part of her legacy and to continue her charitable work, Amy’s family set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation on September 14 of the same year, on what would have been Amy’s 28th birthday. You can visit the website at amywinehousefondation.org.
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