The funeral of Amy Winehouse took place in London, today after 27-year-old singer was discovered at her house in Camden by emergency services at 3.54pm last Saturday. She was apparently "beyond help" when they arrived.Winehouse's death is being treated as "unexplained" by police but sources have claimed that it was due to a drug overdose.The troubled star had cancelled all tour dates and engagements last month after a series of erratic public appearances. In one of her last performances, in Belgrade, Serbia, she staggered on stage an hour late, appearing drunk and incoherent.But,despite her slide into adiction - Amy Winehouse had a musical gift that will be remembered long after her short - and troubled life.
She released only two albums in her life, one of which sold more than a million copies, won five Grammys and sparked a retro soul movement that hasn't yet stopped. The small output, in inverse relation to her outsized talent, made her death Saturday in London all the more tragic.She had a fondness for jazz-inflected vocals and 1960s pop, but she roughed up the style to include hip-hop slang and an infusion of profanity. Her music often focused on drinking, drug-taking and chronic infidelity.
Her song "Rehab" mirrored her life through its defiant lyrics: "They tried to make me go to rehab / I said no, no, no." The bouncy song, styled after the early Motown sound and 1960s girl groups, became a ubiquitous hit in 2007.Amid the chaos and turmoil of her personal life, Ms. Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in 2008, including best new artist. She also won for song of the year and best female pop vocal performance for "Rehab," as well as for record of the year and best pop vocal album for "Back to Black."
Winehouse had battled drink and drugs problems throughout her career. She acknowledged struggling with eating disorders and said that she had been diagnosed as manic depressive but refused to take medication.
She became more famous for her erratic behaviour, cancelled concerts and drink-and-drug-fuelled nights, than her music.A spokesman for the late singer said: "Everyone involved with Amy is shocked and devastated. Our thoughts are with her family and friends. The family will issue a statement when ready."
Last Wednesday night, Winehouse had joined her goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield, on stage at The Roundhouse in Camden. In her final public appearance, Winehouse danced with Bromfield and encouraged the audience to buy her album.One of her neighbours, Jann Meyer, 33, said he had seen the singer quite often. "It's not really a shock, it was to be expected sooner or later. She was very talented, she was amazing."Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she saw the singer's grief-stricken boyfriend, film director Reg Traviss on the ground outside the house after the ambulance arrived.
Winehouse's close friend and collaborator, Mark Ronson, who produced her hugely successful, album, Back to Black, said: "She was my musical soulmate and like a sister to me. This is one of the saddest days of my life."
Lily Allen posted on Twitter: "Its just beyond sad, there's nothing else to say. She was such a lost soul, may she rest in peace."Singer Jessie J tweeted: "The way tears are streaming down my face. Such a loss."
Winehouse joins the notorious '27 Club' of musicians who have died at that age after struggling to cope with fame.
They include Rolling Stone Brian Jones, who drowned in a swimming pool in 1969; guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who choked to death in 1970 after mixing wine with sleeping pills; and singer Janis Joplin, who suffered a suspected heroin overdose the same year.Doors star Jim Morrison, who died of heart failure in 1971, and Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, who shot himself in 1994, are also members.
Sources;The Washington Post, The Sunday Herald & The New York Times
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