British Press: Amy Winehouse's latest interview

In honor of the singer's 32nd birthday, "365" remembers Amy Winehouse through the eyes of her musical colleagues and friends, from Tony Bennett to Russell Brand.

It’s hard to imagine how many more beautiful songs and duets we could have heard if the life of one of the most talented singers of our time had not been cut short at the age of 27. Today, September 14, Amy Winehouse would have turned 32 years old. On this day, we want everyone to forget about that “always-under-something” image of the singer, beloved by the tabloids, and try to look at her through the eyes of those people who were directly familiar with her, and on whose lives she left an indelible imprint.

“By the way, she was a great cook!”

“We met in The Good Mixer bar in Camden and immediately became best friends. In fact, that's how I would characterize our relationship in the first place. I really enjoyed living with her. By the way, she was a great cook! Amy also has well-developed maternal feelings, and it is a great blessing to have a woman like her in your life. My parents loved her very much. My father always said that Amy was not a hooligan by nature. And it is true". Blake Fielder-Sivel

“I experienced that paralysis that comes when you see real genius!”

“When we first met in Camden, she was just a freaky girl in a pink jacket, hanging around Camden pubs with our mutual friends. When they told me that she was a jazz singer, it seemed completely absurd to me. “This must be quite eccentric,” I thought. But he still spoke to her. Amy turned out to be, first of all, a sweet, extravagant, a little strange and completely unbridled girl. At one point she suddenly became famous. I was pleased that she was recognized, but, to be honest, it surprised me. Although I was not familiar with her work, it was far from the 50s, and I could not understand why the jazz singer had achieved such popularity. And then I accidentally went to a Paul Weller concert and saw Amy perform live for the first time. I arrived late and, making my way through the plastic smiles of people with plastic cups in their hands, I was suddenly stunned by the powerful female vocals that flowed from the hall. When I walked in, I saw Amy on stage with Paul and his band. I was dumbfounded." Russell Brand

“A lot of people are dying to hear at least some sketches of the music that Amy left behind, because it is so good that even these fragments are better than many full-length albums created by others.” Mark Ronson

Vacationer Cameron follows in Blair's footsteps

Many British newspapers are paying attention to the vacation of British Prime Minister David Cameron. The Times writes that David Cameron chose Tony Blair's favorite Tuscany for his vacation.

The prime minister and his wife traveled to the resort on a regular flight from the budget airline Times

Renting the 18th-century villa where David and Samantha Cameron are vacationing costs £9.7 thousand a week. The villa is located in the town of Mercatele Valdarno, not far from the estate owned by the singer Sting and his wife Trudie Styler.

It is noteworthy that the British prime minister, his wife and their three children do not occupy the entire villa, but share it with two other families, and pay 5.8 thousand a week.

Aides to the British Prime Minister say that the head of the British Cabinet of Ministers pays the full market price of rent.

However, despite the high cost of rent (by British standards, and not by the standards of Russian officials), commentators note that the prime minister and his wife traveled to the resort on a regular flight of a budget airline.

It is noteworthy that Tony Blair also liked to relax in the Chianti region when he was Prime Minister. However, he was criticized for being the guest of the aristocrat Girolamo Strozzi, whom he did not pay for his stay.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is vacationing in Olmeda, Spain, the publication notes.

“Amy knew exactly what she was capable of.”

“Not many people have the power to do what they truly love, simply because they want to: without any unnecessary worries about it or compromises. Amy knew exactly what she was capable of. If she wanted to do something, she did it, if not, she sent everything to hell. It was that simple, and that's why we all loved her. Amy paved the way for artists like me and got people interested in British music again. I don't think she realized how wonderful, and most importantly valuable, she was, but that made her even more charming." Adele

“It always seemed like she knew what she was doing.”

“I believe Amy Winehouse. I know she is no longer with us, but I believe that she was who she was. She never let anyone think that she was not who she really was. She was strong. She always seemed to know what she was doing." Lana Del Rey

“What I like about Amy is that for the first time since the Beatles, you involuntarily pay attention to someone who is much younger than you, although modern music has long moved away from jazz. Many people think that anyone can sing jazz, but this is not true. After all, this is not only the ability to syncopate, it is very important to have a special sense of music, which you can only be born with. And Amy was born with it.” Tony Bennett

Amy Winehouse found dead in her London apartment

The scandalous star joined the notorious “Club 27”

The scandalous star joined the notorious “Club 27”

Infamous singer Amy WINEHOUSE was found dead in her London apartment. The star's body was discovered today at about 16:00 local time (about 19:00 Moscow time). The police have not yet established the cause of death of the 27-year-old artist. Meanwhile, according to the Clickmusic portal, the singer died from a drug overdose. For a long time, Winehouse suffered from alcohol and drug addiction.

The London Ambulance Service received a call from her home in Camden. Two ambulances were sent there, however, Amy died before they arrived. As recorded in the police report, “the body of a 27-year-old woman was discovered at the scene. The circumstances of death are unknown." At this stage, investigators have recorded the cause of her death as “unidentified.”

Winehouse has been one of the most successful British pop singers of recent years. She received five Grammy Awards, including Best Song of the Year, Debut, and Best Pop Album (Back To Black). Winehouse ranks tenth on the list of Britain's richest musicians under 30. Her fortune was estimated at $16.5 million.

The singer's mother predicted her imminent death

Amy suffered from alcohol and drug addiction for a long time. The singer has been in rehabilitation clinics several times, most recently in May of this year. On the way to the hospital, where her parents and manager once again decided to admit her, the artist stopped at the first store she came across, bought a bottle of vodka and drank it in one fell swoop. The treatment was not successful: a couple of weeks later, during Winehouse’s European tour, a loud scandal broke out. At a concert in Belgrade, the singer went on stage in an insane state and was unable to sing a single song. The star's management urgently canceled her tour and announced that "Amy will be treated, her rehabilitation will take as long as necessary." The singer more than once ended up in the tabloids because of her antics and sprees, but fans forgave the artist everything for her talent and voice.

Three years ago, Winehouse even fled from London to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia to retire there and get rid of her vices. But life in a tropical paradise did not save the poor girl from her addiction to alcohol. The singer temporarily stopped using drugs, however, upon returning to Europe, she again became addicted to heroin.

In 2008, Amy's mother admitted in an interview that she feared that her daughter would die before her time:

“I realize that my daughter may not even live to see the end of this year.” She’s slowly killing herself before our eyes,” said Janice. “I’m already slowly coming to terms with the fact that she’s going to die.” We even discussed which cemetery she would like to be buried in. Because if she continues to live like this, the drugs will take her away. I look at Heath Ledger and Britney Spears - she's on their way. Amy drinks every day. Her whole life passes as if in a fog. Her body and psyche are being destroyed right before her eyes.

Winehouse got hooked on drugs by her husband

Amy acquired her addiction to drugs after marrying Blake Fielder-Civil. The couple divorced in 2009, but by that time Winehouse was already heavily addicted to heroin. Shortly before the divorce, Blake publicly took full responsibility for his wife's drug problems. After being released from prison, where he was imprisoned for fighting, Fielder-Civil admitted to reporters that he got Amy hooked on heroin and cocaine, and also became the main reason for his wife’s tendency to self-harm.

Under pressure from Winehouse's parents, Blake agreed to end his marriage to Amy so that she would stop "killing herself." In an emotional interview with the British newspaper News of The World, Fielder-Civil said:

“I brought Amy into all this, without me she would never have destroyed herself.” I turned something beautiful into ruins. Now I have to let her go so she can save her own life. No, I don't reject her. I do this out of love.

Blake stated that throughout the year in prison he thought about what he had done to his beloved wife, and these thoughts caused him powerless and painful remorse.

“I made the biggest mistake of my life when I let Amy try heroin,” he repented. “After all, I’m older than her and understood perfectly well that drugs would ruin Amy’s life.”

Blake accompanied his confession to journalists with a large number of obscene expressions about himself and those of his actions that led to huge troubles in Amy’s life. Fielder-Civil insisted that he still loved his wife more than anyone in the world, but he had to go away and leave her alone so that Amy could one day be happy again. Unfortunately, she didn't succeed.

By the way

By mystical coincidence, Amy Winehouse joined the infamous “Club 27” - a group of rock stars who died at the height of their fame at the age of 27. These are Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones.

Kurt Cobain, high on heroin and Valium, shot himself to death in 1994. In July 1969, Rolling Stone star Brian Jones was discovered at the bottom of the swimming pool at his Hartfield estate. The police declared death due to negligence, and doctors discovered that the musician’s heart was severely damaged by alcohol and drugs. Jimi Hendrix choked to death in his sleep in 1970 after mixing nine sleeping pills with wine. Singer Janis Joplin is suspected of a heroin overdose - she died the same year. Door star Morrison died of heart failure in 1971.