Hot Amy Winehouse Dead

The infamous 27 club has a new member.  No surprise if truth be told.  Amy Winehouse joins legendary luminaries such as Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix into that exclusive array of talent to shuffle off this mortal coil three years before hitting 30.  She led a troubled life.  A long-term battle with demon drink and drugs she was never going to win.  Another robbing of talent.
Actually this 27 club is a load of nonsense, just pure circumstance.  I like what the great Billy Bragg wrote on Facebook “Before people get carried away with all this ’27 Club’ bullshit, it’s worth recognising that it wasn’t being 27 that killed Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse – it was drug abuse, sadly”.  Whilst drug abuse is not the official reason for her demise; all roads suggest that’s the exact reason accredited to her downfall.
 Actually spoke some sense paying tribute to Amy Winehouse.
I don’t normally agree with the BBC’s on-demand music tribute cretin Paul Gambaccini but he got it spot on proclaiming ‘we’ve been robbed of 20 years of great records’.  Whilst I didn’t care for her music much (that bloody ‘Rehab’ song still grinds my gears to this very day), her talent was unquestionable.  One which will never be wholly fulfilled.  Just two studios albums in the can although with a five year gap since mega selling ‘Back To Black’ there must be enough material in the can for posthumous releases.  There’s always cash aplenty to make out of death.  Post-death excess sales of those two albums have already kicked in according to early reports.
I never get this.  Why do people suddenly rush out and purchase albums of recently deceased artists?  Admittedly I’ve done it once.  When Joe Strummer died, I rushed out and bought everything I didn’t already own as I did a tribute DJ set in the pub I had a residency in.  This was a rare exception to the rule for me however.
At the end of the day she didn’t help herself.  Friends and family tried so desperately hard to get her clean.  Sadly not as easy as simply stopping taking the stuff.  It would be wrong to judge someone I never knew by being lame and calling her ‘weak’.  In any case at this time a drugs overdose is merely a rumour.  Her death remains ‘unexplained’.  Though early indications suggest an overdose; let the coroner do their work before making judgement.
She does come across as a victim of circumstance.  Maybe some good will come out of it as to how one can completely destroy themselves through substance abuse.  We’ve all been here before though.  Goes with the territory in the music business.  Some survive and some don’t.  It’s still an awfully dreadful waste of a young life.  A promise never fulfilled.  She’ll leave a gaping legacy despite tarring her own brush with her very public antics.  Parents have lost a daughter, friends a friend.
I was lucky enough to catch part of a performance at Glastonburya few years ago.  She was a bit of a shambles in all honesty but her talent was there for all to see.  The Mirror are eating humble pie after slating her last public appearance Wednesday.  The media interest surrounding her behaviour didn’t help one jot.  Sadly she didn’t seem capable of helping herself.  All very tragic.  Hopefully as time marches on, she’ll be remembered for her music and not her very public battles with substance abuse and self-harming.
I don’t think she could cope with life in the fast lane.  Hand of fate can be cruel but maybe she is better off where she is.  She is now at peace.  It was pretty obvious she’d be lucky to make 30.  Some people cannot be saved.  Sadly she was one of them.
Many were quick to lampoon her when alive.  I’ll never forget a particularly shambolic appearance on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’.  I ended up feeling sorry for her.  Evidently the producers plied her full of liquor in order to produce a memorable performance folk would natter about.  Sadly that’s the way the industry works at times.  No thought or feeling for the actual human being.  Sensationalism remains much more important than an individual.

amy winehouse

winehouse

The funeral for British singer, Amy Winehouse, was held in London, England today, as the singer was found dead on Saturday, July 23, 2011, of a suspected drug overdose. Dozens of Winehouse's family and friends, came out to pay their respects and bid her farewell.

Crowds gather outside the funeral

Winehouse's ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who publicly admitted he introduced the once healthy singer to heroin and crack-cocaine, marking a massive downward spiral in her life and career, was barred from the funeral by her family and denied permission to leave prison to attend the funeral.

Amy Winehouse's dad Mitch Winehouse

No official cause of death has been determined at this time, due to the autopsy being branded "inconclusive." Standard toxicology tests are underway, with the results expected in several weeks. Winehouse leaves behind an estate worth millions and numerous unreleased songs.
Amy Winehouse's family and friends

Her story should serve as a sobering reminder to many of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, as Winehouse had so much to live for, but due to not embracing the importance of remaining sober, lost her life. This really is a tragic waste of life, because as accomplished as she was in her chosen profession, there was still so much more she could have done over time, with the talents God gave her. Drug and alcohol abuse brought it to a halt.

Amy Winehouse's Funeral

Amy Winehouse's Funeral
It is full time the entertainment industry started doing more to keep artists drug free. It is ridiculous the number of entertainers that have overdosed. The National Basketball Association in America has taken a proactive role in educating athletes on the dangers of fame and wealth. It's time the music, film and television industries in Britain and America do the same.