Still reeling after hearing this news. If ever there was a lessen against drink and drugs.

Can't say I was that keen. She had a powerful voice perhaps but she wasn't a true pro. True pros don't get drunk on stage and start abusing fans. Imagine Sinatra, Presley,Bowie giving a bad gig or turning up bladdered? Never. What she did in her private life was her affair, however foolish, but she didn't know how to divorce it from her professional career. Not a proper star in my book.

She had a load of talent,wasted most of it.

robbiex wrote:
Still reeling after hearing this news. If ever there was a lessen against drink and drugs.

Why are you so surprised?
Surely she was a (classic) accident - just waiting to happen.
Surprised is the very last word I would have used.

In The Know wrote:
robbiex wrote:
Still reeling after hearing this news. If ever there was a lessen against drink and drugs.

Why are you so surprised?
Surely she was a (classic) accident - just waiting to happen.
Surprised is the very last word I would have used.

I know that she has had lots of problems with drugs and alcohol, but she has supposedly been drug free for 3 years. Also with the resources and treatment available today, you don't expect people to die so young. How many drugs have the Shaun Ryders and Liam Gallaghers of this world done without any serious health issues.

Far from shocking, this was sadly inevitable. (Mind you I thought that about Jackson too)

Amy's choices of poison were Smack, Crack & Vodka. Not many stars sail as close to the wind as she did, and very very few females. She killed herself creatively 4 years ago - the 4/5 years she has spent shocking the nation in the pages of intrusive gossip mags and trash tabloids - none of which cover jazz music as far as I'm aware - was the time in which most the "27 Club" founders forged collossal legacies. As far as I'm aware Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Alan Wilson, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain etc did not spend 4-5 years destroying themselves in public whilst failing to produce new music - the most distressing declines out of those (Cobain & Jones by my reckoning) had around 18 months is freefall, not 5 years, and still managed in their final months to make great music.

In The Know wrote:
robbiex wrote:
Still reeling after hearing this news. If ever there was a lessen against drink and drugs.

Why are you so surprised?
Surely she was a (classic) accident - just waiting to happen.
Surprised is the very last word I would have used.

I'm more surprised she lasted as long as she did!

There are many good people who deserve a chance,just seems such a waste not to have done more with the talent she had.

really liked Amy.

I would guess she died from an overdose and as long as drugs are illegal it will continue to happen

The phoney 'war on drugs' has created thousands of victims. We cannot stop illicit drugs so people are taking powerful drugs and have no idea whether they are strong, weak or baking powder.

More proof that the modern media perverts all rational discussion.

Good point Chris Retro

oh I think they all went downhill just as long as Amy did Retro- it just wasn't in the public eye because the tabloids weren't as obsessed with celebrity as they are today.

Anyone know when Jedward reach 27?

They'll both live to be in their nineties Angel. Just to torment us all.

Chris Retro wrote:
... the 4/5 years she has spent shocking the nation in the pages of intrusive gossip mags and trash tabloids... was the time in which most the "27 Club" founders forged collossal legacies...
This is the factor that's rankled with me in most of the coverage of this horribly sad death - her being hailed as a "genius" on the back of a "legacy" of 30-odd songs. Lovely singer, witty lyricist, great look, but this is about promise unfulfilled, not about "genius". RIP.

Let's put this into perspective and imagine they all died, aged 27, at the same time as Amy - who released her second and final album almost 5 years ago in 2006 and has been in public decline ever since:

Janis Joplin: would have broken through in 2008 and gone to record with Big Brother and solo, as well as blowing everyone away at Monterrey
Jimi Hendrix: would arrived in the UK an unknown in July 2007 and toured almost constantly, plus releasing several groundbreaking albums and recording enough 'in the can' to keep music flowing for years after his death.
Jim Morrison: would have released The Doors debut album in early 2007, and gone on to release 5 more albums. The "Miami" incident would have occurred in 2009.
Alan Wilson: Canned Heat would have come to prominence in late 2007, with 6 albums following to universal acclaim. His emotional problems will have come to the fore in mid-late 2009 but his work-rate continued unabated
Brian Jones: Formed The Rolling Stones in 2004, who's rapidly ascended to international fame in 2005. His personal problems will have come to the fore in 2009, and his contribution to the band decreased in 2010 which caused his exit from the band 1 month ago.
Kurt Cobain: Formed Nirvana in 2003, and they first came to prominence in 2007 with the album "Bleach". Exploded commercially with 'Nevermind' in late 2008, released the acclaimed 'In Utero' follow-up 6 months ago and recorded the MTV Unplugged set this March.

Brian wrote:
Good point Chris Retro

Ditto

I found the public display of grief rather pathetic. Most had never met her, been to any of her gigs or bought any of her records. The term "Ambulance chaser's" springs to mind.

Metal Mickey wrote:
Chris Retro wrote:
... the 4/5 years she has spent shocking the nation in the pages of intrusive gossip mags and trash tabloids... was the time in which most the "27 Club" founders forged collossal legacies...
This is the factor that's rankled with me in most of the coverage of this horribly sad death - her being hailed as a "genius" on the back of a "legacy" of 30-odd songs. Lovely singer, witty lyricist, great look, but this is about promise unfulfilled, not about "genius". RIP.

Don't get me wrong - Amy was a genius combination of Billie Holiday & Helen Shapiro, true soul. However, she still isn't fit to shine the shoes of the "27 Club" legends that I have mentioned as her work rate - and thus legacy - is as slim as she was. You would go a long way to finding a more fucked-up drug addled artiste than her apparent inspiration Lady Day and yet even she kept on recording great work until she was at deaths door. What should be is an eternal warning is that in these days of generic soundalikes, even the truly unique and charismatic will fall by the wayside if they surround themselves on a daily basis with Nathan Barley-esque parasites and professional junkies.

Harsh words from someone who comes across as harsh in general. I think this is a different situation from Princess Di for example, as Amy did bear herself in her lyrics. I can understand why people can find an attachment to her because of this. But those without empathy are hardly going to express themselves in a sensitive manner.

It's predictable that quite a lot of people have said that her death was predictable. Totally ridiculous. I know many functioning alcoholics and junkies. 27 is an awfully young age to die.

angel wrote:
I found the public display of grief rather pathetic. Most had never met her, been to any of her gigs or bought any of her records. The term "Ambulance chaser's" springs to mind.

that's a fair comment on most of 'celebrity' today where we revel in every aspect of a person's life and Diana's death was the epitome.

The person in case really is caught up in a whirlwind not of they're own making.

I take the view that some people only pop into this plane of existence for a short time..Amy brought some joy with her...well for me at least and I guess many others.

There are 126 pages (no kidding !) of Amy Winehouse jokes here -

www.sickipedia.org/subcategory/view/452

but the best has to be -

Rebekah Broooks says she is touched by some of the messages people have left on Amy Winehouse's phone.