don't forget Brian Jones, ex Stones member, died at 27
what kind of a band would this make?
Janis Joplin
Amy Winehouse
Jim Morrison
Curt Kobain
Jimi Hendrix
Brian Jones
don't forget Brian Jones, ex Stones member, died at 27
what kind of a band would this make?
Janis Joplin
Amy Winehouse
Jim Morrison
Curt Kobain
Jimi Hendrix
Brian Jones
Troubled singer Amy Winehouse dies at 27
The soul and R&B star, whose drink and drug problems often made the headlines, was found in her London home yesterday. Paul Cahalan reports
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Soul star Amy Winehouse was found dead at her north London home yesterday in what police described only as an "unexplained" death. Winehouse, 27, who sold more than five million records and was heralded across the globe for herBack To Black album, died as she had lived – immersed in controversy.
Police chiefs speaking outside herr house in Camden Town warned against investing in speculation that she had been killed by a drug overdose and to wait for post morterm results to reveal more. The singer's well publicised battles with drink and drug problems had haunted her career and often threatened to overshadow her undisputed talent. She cancelled a European tour recently after a crashing performance in Belgrade during which she appeared to slur the lyrics to her best known hits. Weeks before she had entered rehab for alcohol abuse. Doctors allegedly told her she would die if she did not stop drinking. Last week, she was bacl on stage again, looking relaxed if a little unsteady at the Roundhouse in London during a cameo appearance alongside singer Dionne Bromfield, her goddaughter. Less than 72 hours later, Winehouse was dead.
Her father Mitch was reportedly on a flight to New York when news of her death broke and got on the next plane back to London. The former taxi driver had spoken of his worries over her wildchild lifestyl in the past, once explaining how he had written a eulogy to read at her funeral so fearful was that she might die young.
Yesterday evening. on the other side of police tape wrapped around her house in Camden Square, crowds of fans arrived with flowers and teddy bears. The group had dissipated by the time a body-bag was removed from the house later in the evening,
More fans gathered to toast the singer at The Hawley Arms, one of her favourite pubs in Camden Town - she was occasionally seen pulling pints behind the bar there. Candles were lit oustide in her memory. The pub's owners said: "Apart from her extraordinary musical talent, she was a special person with a good soul and this should not have happened. We feel privileged to have known her and we will sorely miss her."
Winehouse was already dead when ambulance teams arrived at her house. Camden police superintendent Raj Kohli said: "I am aware of reports suggesting that the death was a result of a suspected drugs overdose, but I would like to re-emphasise that no post-mortem examination has yet taken place and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of death."
Supt Kohli added: "The death of any person is a sad time for friends and family - in particular someone like Amy Winehouse, very well-known nationally and internationally. My sympathy extends not just to her immediate family but to her thousands, millions of fans across the world."
Winehouse's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil had long expressed the fear the singer would "die in his arms". He told The Sun that two years ago he put the singer into the recovery position and pulled her tongue out of her mouth to stop her biting it.
"I felt sure I was watching her die right in front of me," he said.
A statement on Amy Winehouse's website from her manager before her death alluded to her troubles. It read: "Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances. Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen."
Some of the world's best known musicians lined up to pay tribute. Crooner Tony Bennett said: "She was an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist. She was a lovely and intelligent person and when we recorded together she gave a soulfu; and extraordinary performance." Another favourite colloborator Mark Ronson said: "Amy was my musical soulmate and like a sister to me.." Simply Red's Mick Hucknall described her as "the finest female singer Britain has ever produced by a long, long way." Her album Frank was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. But her real success came with Back to Black in 2006. It led to six Grammy nominations and five wins, equalling the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night. A Brit award for Best British Female Artist followed in 2007, and she won the Ivor Novello Award three times.
Winehouse joins a long list of musical greats who died aged 27, while still having so much to give their craft. They include Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Rolling Stone Brian Jones.