Amy Winehouse

Before.

14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011

Was it by design or misadventure? Did she fulfil her own destiny? Is she now an all-time great or was she actually a bit of a flash-in-the-pan?  Did she really "die happy"? Questions. Here's another question: didn't she look a bit like a badly neglected horse?

Amy Winehouse died as she lived - in London's massively overrated Camden Town - where menacing street nuisances are 'characters', where hepped-up nightmares are 'revellers' and where there's as many as two decent pubs. Camden, where alternative types flock so they can all look different together. Winehouse made Camden her own and they loved her for it. Amy's just larruped one of her own fans in the face yeah? Genius yeah? Camden innit, standard.

She broke through with her debut album 'Frank' - a 13 piece song cycle which doubled as a love letter to England and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard. It was a bold move for a new artist and one which was received favourably by the critics, regarded as a promising arrival on the British music scene. Her love for Lampard junior went unrequited, however, the Chelsea Chubber finding love at the time with Elen Rives and latterly with star of ITV's Daybreak (and half of Adrian Chiles) - Christine Bleakley. Never having a strong grasp of football, Amy turned her attentions to Blake Fielder-Civil after he bragged about "having trials with QPR once" but "preferred having lie-ins and getting bonced". It was a ruinous relationship, Fielder-Civil wound up in jail and Winehouse began a downward spiral from which she would never fully recover. QPR denied any responsibility.

Frank was a strong start but it was her 2006 single 'Kebab' which thrust her fully under the spolight. Winehouse said the track was inspired by the Smiths song Meat Is Murder, when asked about this in an NME interview (in 2003) Morrisey said “In England, pop music seems now to be exclusively for children. If an artist is no good, why is it necessary to have that artist repeatedly rammed in our face? That Sarah Beeney would get it, by the way. Norks on it”.

Winehouse died aged 27 and in doing so joined a group of artists including; Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Billie Holiday, the Big Punisher, Buddy Holly, Falco, Odetta and Per "Dead" Ohlin from Mayhem who all died at different times, at different ages and of different causes. Spooky? Well they were unavailable for comment, possibly celebrating the 19th anniversary of their debut 12" 'Land Of Oz' on Guerilla records (GRRR36). Coincidence? I don't remember a band called Coincidence - probably for the best, that.

At least in dying so young she never got a chance to go a bit shit. Most musicians that've been around for a while have to negotiate a spell in the artistic doldrums, remember Todd Rundgren's blue hair n' viking helmet period? Aphex Twin spent some time claiming that he wrote his tunes whilst lucid dreaming. Really Aphex? Who've you got on remix duties, Jimmy Hill? Paul McCartney wrote the Frog Chorus - he also wrote Pipes Of Peace, take your pick. No doubt there'll be some posthumous releases from Winehouses's record label, the smart money must be on a collaborative mash-up with the N-Dubz. Camden innit?

Status: Dead

Lookalike: The yellow one from Angry Birds

In Three Words: Bankrolled The Zutons