Amy Winehouse

[glasgowwestie]

No. Not because she was a "celebrity", but because she was talented - and that talent will not now reach it's full potential. That is why we consider the loss of young people to be particularly difficult, because of their potential being denied. In truth their potential could be to be a great songwriter or singer or indeed a drug addict, but to be denied the opportunity to find out is sad.
Paul

[tut]

Sorry, she was only talented if that is the type of music or singer that you like.

I think Sinatra was the greatest ever, but very few on here would agree with me as they are half my age.

As is usual, we are expressing opinions, and these will always differ.

tut

[rossybee]

Sorry, she was only talented if that is the type of music or singer that you like.

I disagree.

I am neither a fan of Winehouse nor Sinatra, but hold much respect for both their talents.

[glasgowwestie]

No, you were telling me why I was sad and that was factually incorrect. Not an opinion.

Our opinions of her talent will differ, as will mine of the magnitude of Sinatra's talent, as far as I know, he didn't write most of the songs he sang. But granted he was a great singer, loved by many.
Paul

[Andy G]

Met her in St Lucia - stayed at my friends resort - to hear her sing in the piano bar, was unbelievable, probably the best singing voice i have ever heard, by some way - what a voice from such a small person! Insisting we join in , despite us not wanting to pollute the air with our singing voices - such was her ability - staggering.

She actually did some really good things, and touched some lives you'll never know about - although she was almost Jeckyl and Hyde like between sober and drugged/drunk Amy. You could have a conversation with her one minute,and then find out she's had an arguement the next, and was in trouble with the resort (again)

Perhaps not a suprise, but she really was a troubled soul, and utterly hunted by the press. (boats with photographers were a common occurence) Dont believe all those f*cks reported.

Whatever she did, she was one hell of a talent, and what a voice.

Sad day indeed, and I for one, thoroughly enjoyed the brief moments,laughs, singing and chat I had with her at Le Sport in St Lucia.

From what i saw her management and "friends" were hardly doing her any favours

[PhilA]

yeah, sad day. still ironic that rehab tune.

sad day anyone dies young.
we all have our problems, hers were very evident - as drug problems usually are.

music taste is opinion - and so some will like some wont. i liked some of her tunes, i like lots of sinatra.
kylie is amazing! pet shop boys stike the best chord with me.

she clearly wasnt ready to get back into public - and whoever let her/forced her to do the gigs were nuts.

rip

[campbell]

Wasn't going to bother reading this thread when I saw the headline in my Feedreader. But I did, so there you go.

To some extent I'm following Tut, I think.

Was Amy an addict before she "got famous"?

My main take on this is disappointment, in that she's been a poor role model. I respect Andy for handing down a first-hand experience, this counts for a lot. But as Robin says, I don't have that experience, and have only what the media want me to think (and that's limited because I don't generally read the sensationalist trash publications that peddled so much of it).

I have kids, and don't want them to grow up thinking that kind of behaviour is "normal" or acceptable. But I guess my responsibility around that is not to judge dear Amy, but to help the kids understand what is and is not good, to help teach them to filter the latter.

Loss of a great talent, for sure. But not one that I will miss personally.

Campbell

PS - just back from first seeing of Senna The Movie at Filmhouse in Edinburgh. Now there was a lost talent. Although I think he knew he was going on that very day...

[Tom]

Sorry, she was only talented if that is the type of music or singer that you like.

I disagree.

I am neither a fan of Winehouse nor Sinatra, but hold much respect for both their talents.

I'm with Ross on this, although I'm a fan of both. Amy Winehouse as a person was not my cup of tea, and I couldn't stand to listen to her being interviewed, however, in my opinion she was hugely talented.

[tut]

I have kids, and don't want them to grow up thinking that kind of behaviour is "normal" or acceptable. But I guess my responsibility around that is not to judge dear Amy, but to help the kids understand what is and is not good, to help teach them to filter the latter.

That is really why I am a bit heartless. It is difficult enough bringing up kids and keeping them on the straight and level, especially when you are not a perfect example yourself, which they are quick to point out to you, but I have never touched drugs, Verian would go mental if anyone ever produced a joint in our house, and as far as I know the kids have never touched them either.

So when I tear them off a strip for crashing, getting points, fighting etc, it is met with "but you did it dad", which is hard to answer to. A lot of teenagers are going to take the attitude "she does it and gets away with it, when she is arrested she is soon back making records and on stage again, and making lots of money"

However I wish I was reading about Pete Doherty's demise and not hers.

tut

[meatball]

My thoughts are that you should not speak ill of the dead if they have done you no harm.

[Kelvin]

Maybe I am old fashioned.

Role models by definition is what they should be.

tut

You expect too much from celebrities if you expect them to be role models. In fact, the rich and famous generally seem to be rather bereft of role models. Maybe those young folk that look up to Amy will see the tragic waste of her talent and realise that fame and fortune doesn't solve life's problems, creates many more and that ultimately drugs are bad m'kay.

I was reading about Tatum O'Neal the other day. She is a heroin addicted crack head although is apparently currently clean. Everyone is responsible for themselves and we make our own choices in life. However, when you read what she has had to put up with from the people that really ought to be her role models (her parents) it's little surprise she's ended up the way she has.

Celeb drug addicts can't do it on their own due to their fame and are often aided and abetted by the folk around them as their lifestyle is often funded by the celeb they are connected with. I've read that Amy's manager is also a well known London bad guy and drug pusher. Dunno how true that it is but it is likely Amy was more a victim of the greedy entourage that allowed her to debase herself on stage a few weeks ago at the start of her abandoned tour. That said, if you have an addictive personality fighting against your addiction is tough, much tougher than any of us that haven't been there can probably imagine.

[BiggestNizzy]

Was Amy an addict before she "got famous"?

I think her X-husband takes the blame for that one.

[jason]

A lot of teenagers are going to take the attitude "she does it and gets away with it, when she is arrested she is soon back making records and on stage again, and making lots of money"

Except she hasn't got away with it, has she?! She's paid quite a price. Far greater than any legal penalty. Perhaps some good could come from this, yet another, sad tale caused by the destructive effects of substance abuse... if her fans, and others she influenced, take heed. Sadly unlikely based on previous 'rock star downfalls' but you never know.

She has not willingly or consciously done harm to anyone. She was an addict. A victim. Just like so many others we will never hear about, apart from probably not needing to commit crimes to feed her need. The ones we should feel contempt for are those supplying - those responsible for starting people like her on their doomed journey.

I didn't particularly like her music, but I recognised her talent and the fact that many, many people did enjoy her work. However, this is irrelevant since at the end of the day she was still a human being who had (to my knowledge) done no evil.

[ikarl]

I don't really have much to add to the thread, other than that I am really sad that she is dead.

I remember being absolutely blown away by her album Back to Black and listening to it almost non-stop back in 2006 - along with that I had some really good, happy memories attached with some of her songs.

[Corranga]

However I wish I was reading about Pete Doherty's demise and not hers.

tut

I see them as one in the same (although I actually like the Libertines stuff and not Winehouse).

She had a good voice, and via Mark Ronson, some decent songs, but I never bought any of them and never will, but she had friends, family and fans, and I feel for them. The loss of an icon, no matter how bad they acted will effect lots of people.

I know nothing about the issues behind, just that she was a bit of a junkie and I wasn't at all shocked to hear the news.

I can't help but feel that the UK media is partly to blame (and in turn the UK people for buying their drivel), reporting every downfall of hers, and harassing her constantly until she, as a weak, addicted person cracked. Stop buying crap like OK/NOW magazine, the Sun, Star etc and the paperazzi will have to stop stalking these people and reporting every little slip.

All that said, give a junkie access to near endless money and surely they need a 24/7 coach to stop the using. Even when they are unemployed benefit seeking homeless they still seem to find that next hit, imagine that applied to a rich person!

Chris