Amy Winehouse

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clueless said:
Thanks for sharing your memories, @Tweacle - I'm so envious you got to spend time with her!



I agree, it will be great to hear more from her mum's perspective for a change, we never really hear from her, unlike Mitch!

Janis seems like a lovely woman and she acknowledges that she made mistakes as a mum with not being strict enough, not taking Amy's bulimia admission seriously etc... she just seemed to be far too soft with her and she admits to this, unlike Mitch who accepts no responsibility for anything, and tries to make himself out to be the World's Best Dad.
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Janis is just lovely. She knows she spoiled amy rotten and she will happily say she made mistakes. However she was a single mum who was also not very well, and from what I know Mitch wasn’t a good husband and got worse after they split. She worked so hard to provide for them, so I think she can be forgiven for trying to make Amys life easier.
 
Tweacle said:
Oh my god, same! We must have been in the same company? She was a ‘local’ to us and just one of us, totally normal and loved getting pissed and partying but after Blake, it was something else. We all HATED him.

My other half knew her quite well. I had a couple of wild nights out with her. She was lovely. Absolutely kind and loving. Tighter than anyone I’ve ever met though. And totally messed up before Blake came on the scene, he didn’t help the situation. Her dad ? I just didn’t like him, he pushed her to the max the majority of the time and was a bully. He’s spent the time since she passed trying to further himself. She’s sadly missed. She just wanted a nice man and babies, in fact I’m sure given time and with the right person, she would have been a lovely mum.
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Tweacle said:
Janis is just lovely. She knows she spoiled amy rotten and she will happily say she made mistakes. However she was a single mum who was also not very well, and from what I know Mitch wasn’t a good husband and got worse after they split. She worked so hard to provide for them, so I think she can be forgiven for trying to make Amys life easier.
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Amy was one of us and that was what made her truly exceptional. He talent was surpassed by none and Janis knew this and just was proud. I knew her and was in the same ‘local’ crowd (I have zero talent) but we grew up together and she was always special. Never commented before as it’s not a rave thread and I only have positive things to say (apart from that absolute bleep Blake).
 
What I always wondered, having lived in Camden when Amy spiralled out of control and then later died, was that nobody seemed to have stopped her.

I remember seeing the clips from her concerts when she was completely wasted (and high at the same time I assume), the photos of her wandering through SoHo lost in her bloody ballet shoes, the many articles about her drug taking.

Did she not allow anyone to help her? Did her parents not want to step in? Did she not have anyone else close to her who could have helped?
 
whathastheworldcometo said:
What I always wondered, having lived in Camden when Amy spiralled out of control and then later died, was that nobody seemed to have stopped her.

I remember seeing the clips from her concerts when she was completely wasted (and high at the same time I assume), the photos of her wandering through SoHo lost in her bloody ballet shoes, the many articles about her drug taking.

Did she not allow anyone to help her? Did her parents not want to step in? Did she not have anyone else close to her who could have helped?
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Her parents did step in. They sent her to rehab (though Blake went with her, which rather defeated the object), they had a nurse check in on her every day; I believe they also played a part in making her divorce Blake. They weren't idly standing around, in other words.
 
ThePelican said:
Her parents did step in. They sent her to rehab (though Blake went with her, which rather defeated the object), they had a nurse check in on her every day; I believe they also played a part in making her divorce Blake. They weren't idly standing around, in other words.
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Thanks for explaining, I didn't have these details.

I guess everybody thought that she was on the path of recovery before she died.
 
One of the tragedies with Amy is that she went from being so beautiful, a healthy weight and full of life to almost skeletal and virtually dying in front of us. I'm actually surprised she didn't die before. It was devastating seeing her spiral completely out of control. I know she had her demons, but Blake was like the Grim Reaper. He destroyed her.

As well as overwhelming sadness, I find is horrifying that this was allowed to happen. I don't mean that people didn't try, especially her mum, but personally I think that she should have been sectioned. She was a clear danger to herself and as well as alcohol and drug addictions, I'm certain she had an eating disorder too.

One last thing is how much I cringe when people say "Rehab" is their favourite song. How anyone can enjoy this song is beyond me. The popularity of it must have reinforced Amy's belief that she didn't need to go to rehab, when she so obviously did. 😭
 
Sunshine&clouds said:
One of the tragedies with Amy is that she went from being so beautiful, a healthy weight and full of life to almost skeletal and virtually dying in front of us. I'm actually surprised she didn't die before. It was devastating seeing her spiral completely out of control. I know she had her demons, but Blake was like the Grim Reaper. He destroyed her.

As well as overwhelming sadness, I find is horrifying that this was allowed to happen. I don't mean that people didn't try, especially her mum, but personally I think that she should have been sectioned. She was a clear danger to herself and as well as alcohol and drug addictions, I'm certain she had an eating disorder too.

One last thing is how much I cringe when people say "Rehab" is their favourite song. How anyone can enjoy this song is beyond me. The popularity of it must have reinforced Amy's belief that she didn't need to go to rehab, when she so obviously did. 😭
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Yes, this is kind of how I felt.
I couldn't read the news about her as I felt that the press was essentially capitalising on her decline. "Virtually dying in front of us" describes it well.

Even after Blake was gone she clearly struggled and was dating this Trevor guy but still not recovering to a healthy life style.

I also wonder why she wasn't sent to a in-patient clinic to get proper treatment over a longer period of time.

Regarding "Rehab" - it has a catchy melody and if you don't listen to the words it simply is a good song. But I agree, it is a sad song.
Similar to "Back to black" - essentially she was celebrated for her sadness, her suffering.
Maybe this was also hard to deal with. Imagine you pour your heart and pain out and people love the songs but the pain is still there.
 
whathastheworldcometo said:
What I always wondered, having lived in Camden when Amy spiralled out of control and then later died, was that nobody seemed to have stopped her.

I remember seeing the clips from her concerts when she was completely wasted (and high at the same time I assume), the photos of her wandering through SoHo lost in her bloody ballet shoes, the many articles about her drug taking.

Did she not allow anyone to help her? Did her parents not want to step in? Did she not have anyone else close to her who could have helped?
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People tried. Really tried. The rehab thing was awful as Blake was there too which made it worse. Her mum and dad both pushed, but she didn’t want the help at the time. She just couldn’t see the destructive cycle she was in. Was very hard to see.
 
whathastheworldcometo said:
Regarding "Rehab" - it has a catchy melody and if you don't listen to the words it simply is a good song. But I agree, it is a sad song.
Similar to "Back to black" - essentially she was celebrated for her sadness, her suffering.
Maybe this was also hard to deal with. Imagine you pour your heart and pain out and people love the songs but the pain is still there.
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I agree. They're great songs, but, so sad. It's a bit like that Lewis Capaldi song that everyone loves, when it's about suicide.
 
Sunshine&clouds said:
I agree. They're great songs, but, so sad. It's a bit like that Lewis Capaldi song that everyone loves, when it's about suicide.
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I’m convinced she did her best writing when things was bad for her. She had a wall up that broke down when she was sad. Awful way to be really. Will say though that even in her worse times, she still has a kindness that came through for others. She’s very much missed.
 
Did anyone watch the documentary years before her death that focused on her being obsessed with the 27 club? I feel like it was on channel 4 and I don't think it's been repeated since her death.
 
ThePelican said:
Her parents did step in. They sent her to rehab (though Blake went with her, which rather defeated the object), they had a nurse check in on her every day; I believe they also played a part in making her divorce Blake. They weren't idly standing around, in other words.
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Didn't they send her to Jamaica but Blake couldn't go and she had an affair whilst there?

I remember someone saying her 'promiscuity ' (🙄) was akin to a sexual abuse victim

I think it was her neediness that drove her into new relationships / physical relations. She just wanted to feel loved.
 
Blake didn’t destroy her, IMO, addiction did. He didn’t help, but he’s an addict too. They weren’t good for each other for sure. I bloody hate drugs / alcohol. Destroys so many people.

I went to an exhibition on Amy at the Jewish Museum in Camden a few years back, and they had a lot of her stuff. It was lovely but very sad.
 
whathastheworldcometo said:
What I always wondered, having lived in Camden when Amy spiralled out of control and then later died, was that nobody seemed to have stopped her.

I remember seeing the clips from her concerts when she was completely wasted (and high at the same time I assume), the photos of her wandering through SoHo lost in her bloody ballet shoes, the many articles about her drug taking.

Did she not allow anyone to help her? Did her parents not want to step in? Did she not have anyone else close to her who could have helped?
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Sadly it’s really, really hard to stop an addict, which imo Amy was. They will only ever stop when they want to. There probably isn’t a parent alive who has lost to a child to addiction and hasn’t been wracked with guilt but it’s impossible to step in and help someone until they’re ready to be helped
 
LennyBriscoe said:
Sadly it’s really, really hard to stop an addict, which imo Amy was. They will only ever stop when they want to. There probably isn’t a parent alive who has lost to a child to addiction and hasn’t been wracked with guilt but it’s impossible to step in and help someone until they’re ready to be helped
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Completely.

I don't even think that her parents could have done more, she was an adult after all and living by herself.

But what I find hard to deal with, in hindsight, is that there were so many photos of her in newspapers, demonstrating how derailed she was, and we all looked at them and didn't do anything. I cannot even say what could have done by "the public", but it feels extra cruel that the whole world watched her collapse in a way.

I don't think I am expressing myself very well. I think that maybe some pictures should not have been printed and that her management should have been alerted (it probably was), maybe there could have been some sort of intervention, I don't know.
 
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