I was there when Amy Winehouse punched a fan at Glastonbury. I was on my way to watch Jay-Z and cut across the Pyramid Stage as she performed, catching the limp-wristed jab on the big screens. I eventually abandoned my mission thanks to a dangerous crush – opting instead to watch Massive Attack.
If only Winehouse had made a similar decision to steer clear of apparent danger. Gripped by drink and drugs, the 27 year old singer chose the wrong path, the wrong men and the wrong career choices, culminating in tragically early death.
Prodigiously talented, Winehouse burned brightly but briefly. With only two albums under her belt she will never release another. Back to Black will forever remain the high-water mark in brief career: it rightly bagged her award after award for her autobiographical lyrics and smouldering, sensual voice.
Her demise has been a long time coming. Her wasted frame has been seen lurching in and out of the tabloid press for years, each stint in rehab being immediately followed by yet another relapse or cancelled concert appearance. Divorces and reconciliations with uber-rogue Blake Fielder Civil were a sure sign that the Londoner was making bad decision after bad decision – with every one documented and photographed by the gutter press and paparazzi.
It’s a sad fact that the public’s demand for scandal feeds the media frenzy around figures such as Winehouse. Whether they contributed to her downward spiral is impossible to ascertain, but it’s sure that they cannot have contributed anything positive to her struggles with addiction. Maybe her state of mind and substance abuse would have eventually led to her demise regardless of the press coverage. But in the coming days it will be interesting to see exactly how those who capitalised on her weaknesses in life will lionise her in death.
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