There are twenty-bajillion stories about the death of Amy Winehouse, so please, bear with us. I was tempted to wait until an autopsy had been done and the results released before discussing what Amy could have possibly been on, if her death was the result of an overdose or alcohol poisoning. But… there are so many reports about what she was doing during her final day, so… let’s just talk about it. British sources say that Amy was on a terrible bender involving heroin, ecstasy, ketamine and excessive quantities of alcohol:

A source told The People that she was seen buying substances, believed to be cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and ketamine leading up to the hours before her death. She is also thought to have been drinking heavily, which may have been the trigger of a lethal concoction of drugs and alcohol.

The source told the newspaper: ‘Amy seemed determined to have a big one on Friday night. She was out in Camden on Friday evening, but seemed determined to carry on the party back at her flat. None of us know who was with her into the early hours of Saturday. But getting out of it was clearly her main priority of the night.’

Another source from one Camden pub told the tabloid that they had also seen Amy buying cocaine from a well known dealer in the area.

Meanwhile, friends of the star told the Sunday Mirror that they believe she died from a ‘bad’ ecstasy pill mixed with a large amount of alcohol.

Winehouse also suffered from emphysema, which is a disease of the lungs that causes shortness of breath.

One friend told the newspaper: ‘It was an ecstasy overdose. She could do cocaine until the cows come home. But this was obviously a dodgy pill.’

[From The Mail]

Meanwhile, the autopsy has still not been completed, and Scotland Yard wants everyone to chill out. They released a statement which says in part: “At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident.” However, TMZ’s source says that the Yard is operating under the suspicion that Amy overdosed.

Amy was discovered in her Camden apartment by her security guard. Amy’s rep tells media outlets, “She was in her bedroom after saying she wanted to sleep, and when he went to wake her he found she wasn’t breathing. [The bodyguard] called the emergency services straight away. He was very shocked. At this stage no one knows how she died. She died alone in bed.”

Amy’s parents Mitch and Janis have released a statement to the media as well: “Our family has been left bereft by the loss of Amy, a wonderful daughter, sister, niece. She leaves a gaping hole in our lives. We are coming together to remember her and we would appreciate some privacy and space at this terrible time.” Mitch was in NYC when Amy died, and he flew into England right away to be with his family. Janis, who had seen Amy just 24 hours before her death, reportedly said that she felt Amy’s death was “only a matter of time”: “She seemed out of it. But her passing so suddenly still hasn’t hit me.” Janis says that Amy’s last words to her were “I love you, mum” and Janis says, “They are the words I will always treasure. I’m glad I saw her when I did.”

Amy’s ex-husband Blake Civil-Fielder is still in prison, and it’s being said that he’s been put on suicide watch because they’re afraid of what he might do in the wake of Amy’s death. Blake even released a statement! “I’m beyond inconsolable … my tears won’t dry. I will never ever again feel the love I felt for her. Everybody who knew me and knew Amy knew the depth of our love. I can’t believe she’s dead.” Meanwhile, Amy’s last boyfriend, Reg Traviss, has not released any statements.

Lastly, every celebrity is talking about Amy, releasing statements or tweeting about it. My favorite eulogy was from Russell Brand – he wrote a surprisingly lovely, touching, compassionate and intelligent eulogy/essay for Amy in the form on a long blog post. If you’d like to read it, go here.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

My goodness. Sad news. Amy Winehouse has died at the age of 27. Her body was found by the Metropolitan Police in her London apartment today. Amy had well documented problems with drugs and alcohol (mostly alcohol), and had recently been in and out of rehab a few times just this year. She also started, but then abruptly ended a tour.

Amy Winehouse has died.

The troubled singer, whose unique and soulful voice made her a Grammy winner, was found dead at her London apartment on Saturday, according to various reports. She was 27.

“We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist and performer,” a statement from her U.S. record label reads. “Our prayers go out to Amy’s family, friends and fans at this difficult time.”

London’s Metropolitan Police released also a statement about finding a body but didn’t identify the singer: “Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased,” the statement reads, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. “On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene. Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained.”

The singer, who was to some as well known for her struggles with addiction as her music, was in rehab as recently as May and canceled a planned summer tour of Europe in June, following a disastrous appearance in Belgrade, Serbia.

But Winehouse’s musical accomplishments were many, including nearly sweeping the Grammy Awards in 2008 with her album Back to Black, which scored five trophies including record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. Unable to attend the Grammys due to legal troubles, Winehouse performed via satellite from London during the ceremony.

The singer had a tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, whom she married in 2007. But the on-again, off-again couple were officially divorced in 2009.

[From People Magazine]

It’s interesting that there’s a reference to Blake, when it’s Amy’s latest and last on-again/off-again lover Reg Traviss who seems to be involved somewhat in this drama now. There are photos of him outside of Amy’s apartment today, and I wonder if Reg wasn’t the one to find Amy’s body.

I know that this news isn’t really unexpected given Amy’s years of substance abuse, but I’m still very saddened by it. Amy was once one of the brightest talents in British music, and I loved her debut album so much. It was always my hope that she would pull herself together and make music her top priority. So, so sad. I hope her heaven has lots of dirty ballerina slippers.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Yesterday it was announced that Amy Winehouse’s planned 12 city European tour, two dates of which had already been canceled, would be entirely scrapped. I read this news in The Sun along with the detail that she’ll be going away “for years” and waited to hear official confirmation. It’s true, we won’t be seeing Amy for a while. Amy did play one disastrous gig in Belgrade, in which she swayed and mumbled, scratching her arms and struggling to stand upright. The video was painful to watch. She’s clearly in the throes of addiction and needs treatment, or at least to be taken out of the spotlight for her own well being. It’s the right decision.

A musician from the band who opened up for Amy just told The Sun that Amy had to be pushed on stage to perform, and that she was protesting and “obviously needed help.” What’s more is that people around Amy tried to keep all booze and drugs away from her before the show, but she got ahold of some anyway. Sad.

ANA ZOE KIDA, whose band ZEMLJA GRUVA shared the bill, said: “Four British bodyguards simply pushed her to step up on stage.

“She did not want to and was making a scene trying to escape them.

“It was distressing to see, she obviously needed help.”

The Sun revealed management were baffled how Amy got sozzled so quickly as she arrived at Saturday’s Belgrade gig sober and booze was banned at her city hotel.

[From The Sun]

As a side note I googled “Amy Winehouse tour canceled” and found this story from 2007 when she canceled her UK dates back when her then-husband was in jail. Amy has been in a bad state for some time and she probably won’t reach a level where she can do an extensive tour again. Maybe she’ll be able to record more music at some point, though. It’s just a shame that she’s turned out like this, but maybe once she’s out of the spotlight she’ll be able to recover like she did before. I was surprised at how much better she got over the last couple of years when she went on an extended vacation to the Caribbean and had some down time.

Amy is shown out on 10/8/10. Credit: WENN.com

Amy tries to sing at 1:20

Amy Winehouse was too wasted to remember the words to her song during a performance in Belgrade over the weekend. In a video of the show, (above) Amy rubs her nose and arms, sways back and forth awkwardly and mumbles as she tries to fake her way through “Just Friends.” At times she seemed distracted by her arms, rubbing them and looking down with glazed eyes before she remembers that she’s supposed to be performing. This was supposed to be the first of 12 European shows for Amy, but because she was too out of it to even complete one gig her next two have been canceled. The last we heard from Amy she was in rehab, but she left after just a week there.

Amy Winehouse, attempting to perform while appearing to be under the influence, was booed off the stage in Belgrade on Saturday night after she arrived on stage an hour late, then stumbled around and slurred the words to her 2008 song “Just Friends.”

She greeted the crowd of 20,000 by shouting, “Hello, Athens,” reports the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper.

Following the incident, Winehouse, 27, apologized to fans and canceled Monday’s scheduled performance in Istanbul and Wednesday’s in Athens, say reports.

Late last month, Winehouse checked into rehab for her ongoing problem with drugs and alcohol, the singer’s rep confirmed to PEOPLE. The treatment was seen as preparation for this tour.

In a statement following the Belgrade incident, Winehouse’s management said: “Despite feeling sure that she wanted to fulfill these commitments, she has agreed with management that she cannot perform to the best of her ability and will return home. … She would like to apologize to fans expecting to see her at the shows but feels that this is the right thing to do.”

Her next show is scheduled for Friday, July 8, in Spain.

[From People]

So Amy has a whole two and a half weeks to get it together. Considering that she hasn’t been able to do that in several years, that’s not likely to happen. The best we can hope for is to her to stay semi-sober enough to sing and remember the words. Maybe her record company should just send her back to St. Lucia and forget about trying to have her tour. She wasn’t quite sober in the Caribbean but she seemed to be keeping it together and it didn’t seem like she was going to go the way of so many other talented musicians. She turns 28 on September 14. I hope it’s not callous to say that I really hope she makes it.

This is Amy on 6/23/10. Credit: Barcroft/Fame Pictures

Amy Winehouse has checked back in rehab. For the millionth time, it feels like. I’m too lazy to even try to look up how many times Amy has been to rehab, but I’m going to say “eight” feels right. According to a statement from Amy’s rep, she “has embarked on a treatment program at the Priory Clinic. She wants to be ready for performances in Europe this summer and decided to seek an assessment. She will remain at the Priory on doctors’ advice.” Amy has already scheduled several gigs this summer in Europe, the kick-off scheduled for June 18. Can Amy pull it together in, what, less than four weeks?

Apparently, her dad Mitch was the one to instigate this latest rehab trip. According to People’s source, “Her dad sat her down and said ‘I think you’re drinking too much again.’ So she agreed to go an assessment to stop it becoming a bigger problem.”

So, what did Amy do on her way to The Priory? She bought some vodka for the road. Of course.

TROUBLED AMY WINEHOUSE dropped into a cornershop and necked a bottle of vodka – while on her way to REHAB. The bedraggled star downed the miniature of Smirnoff at the counter before checking in for treatment at The Priory.

A stunned onlooker at Meadway Food and Wine in Southgate, North London, said: “She seemed out of it. She was stumbling about, slurring her words. I was shocked to see her buy vodka so early in the day, and even more shocked to see her knock it straight back.”

Just two minutes earlier, scruffy Amy – dressed in a tracksuit and sporting her trademark beehive – had stunned clients in a hair salon.

The Back to Black singer, 27, had stormed in to use the toilet at 12.30pm on Wednesday.
Horrified customers said they heard the tattooed ex-junkie VOMITING before she walked out, telling staff: “I just puked all over your bathroom.”

One punter said: “I felt really sorry for the staff. I think they were too scared to say anything.”

Last night her spokesman denied she had been sick, saying her comment was a joke. He added: “Amy’s embarked on treatment at The Priory.”

[From The Sun]

Poor Amy. And dear God, she STILL has a rep? That poor bastard. In case you think The Sun can’t be relied upon, People Magazine confirms the vodka story, with a friend of Amy’s telling the magazine that Amy downed the vodka on her way to the clinic “in typical Amy style.” As for whether or not THIS rehab trip will work… yeah, not so much. Amy just uses these rehab stays like other people go to spas. She just goes there to get some healthy meals, get some rest, get sober for two seconds and then she’s got her second wind and she’s ready to party again.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Every so often, we get a new batch of Amy Winehouse photos, and I go searching for any news about our beloved Amy. There’s not much to tell this time, though. These are pics of Amy out in London last night, where she left the Abbey Road Studio and went to her favorite bar. I actually think Amy looks… kind of good. For her, you know? She doesn’t look falling-down drunk, she’s not posing with her butt sticking out, her crack tittays are harnessed (and looking bigger?). Sure, she’s wearing a sweater and no skirt or pants. But the sweater is long, so all in all, it’s not bad. I will admit something, though: when I first glanced through these pics, I thought for a second that I was looking at Snooki. I mean, look at her! Amy and Snooki are kind of the same, only Amy is more pulled together (yikes).

Amy Winehouse might have been looking a lot healthier as she headed to Camden for a night out, but she seemed to have forgotten her skirt. The overly bronzed singer was spotted leaving Abbey Road Studios towards her favourite Camden haunt in an oversized Fred Perry jumper, and nothing else.

She did remember her ballet slippers but her legs and surgically enhanced cleavage were on full display as she strolled down the street. Perhaps Amy was a bit overexcited by the warm London weather yesterday and took the opportunity to show off her extensive fake tan. The 27-year-old was wearing a long-sleeved pink, grey and black argyle sweater that she designed herself for Fred Perry. But when she jumped out of a taxi to hit the pub, Amy flashed her pink knickers to photographers due to the incredibly revealing outfit. And she looked to be regretting her wardrobe choice later in the night when she was seen putting her arms around herself to keep warm.

When she was inside her favourite drinking spot, The Hawley Arms, she jumped behind the bar and decided to start serving the customers. And after an evening of drinking, the Back to Black singer left with her burly bodyguard and called it a night looking relatively sober.

The troubled star has been appearing happier and healthier over recent months and posed for her first promotional shoot in over three years earlier in March.

She appears to have turned a corner after finally kicking her well-documented drug habit and recently told Look magazine: ‘I’ve finally escaped from hell. Before I came out here I looked at a photo of myself in the paper and was horrified. My skin was a spotty mess and I was so pale and skinny. I thought, ‘Girl, you’ve got to sort yourself out or you’ll be dead soon.’

[From The Daily Mail]

There’s part of me that misses the old Winehouse, the one who would slam full bottles of rum and try to make out with random men and women, all while her crack tittays fell out and her ballet slippers got increasingly more mangy. But mostly, I’m really glad that Amy has kind of pulled herself together. Once again, pulled herself together FOR HER. If the craziest thing she’s done lately is wear a sweater dress, fix her crack tittays and play bartender for several hours, then she’s doing really well.

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Amy Winehouse is profiled in the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Her intent, I think, was to promote her new clothing line for the existing line Fred Perry. But as with all things Winehouse, sh-t gets complicated. It’s been a while since I’ve read a proper Winehouse interview, and I always forget how funny she is. She’s not always intending to be funny, but whatever. She’s already guzzling wine and seems extremely out of it by the time the interview begins. The full Bazaar piece is here, and here are some of the highlights:

On the photo shoot with Bryan Adams: Today she’s modeling the clothes for rock star turned photographer Bryan Adams. They are partway through the shoot when I arrive; Adams has taken a break to eat some food. He’s trying to convince Winehouse to eat too by offering her vegan rice balls. “No, Bryan!” she says grandly. She is very loud and very theatrical. “I need protein, Bryan!” She dispatches a member of her not-inconsiderable entourage to track down a Pret A Manger crayfish salad. Also: “A cucumber, so I can hit Bryan with it.”

Things go downhill when Amy starts guzzling wine: Just before Winehouse goes to change for the next shot, I see her gulping down a big glass of wine. “Not,” she says aloud, “that I’m a rock-star alkie.” I have no idea what prompted this, but I can say that 45 minutes later, she is changed. She is physically unstable, wobbly in high block heels. Soon, she begins a chorus-girl routine for the camera—complete with cha-chas and pirouettes. “Hurry up, Bryan!” she shouts. “This is like a three-hour-long blood extraction!” She hikes her black-and-white-checked miniskirt up and shakes her hips. The shoot wraps, and Winehouse walks unsteadily from the set. I find her sitting on the edge of a white-quilted bed in her dressing room, slurping noisily from a pot of soup. One of her representatives tells me that she will sit in on our interview.

The interview begins: I want to ask Winehouse many things. Is she happy? Healthy? Working on new material? In love? How is her relationship with her father, the outspoken London taxicab driver, Mitch? Does she miss Blake? Does she want marriage? Children? But, I quickly realize, I am unlikely to get any answers. She is just not … present. She is distracted and vague. My most straightforward questions confuse her. How are you? I ask. She slurps more soup. “I’m all right. How are you?” Her voice is breathier, girlier now; her syntax is childish. She either pronounces words with great care or slurs them into one barely intelligible syllable.

On the fun, easy time she had working on her clothing line: “Ve’y much so. Ve’y much so. And that’s been the whole thing. We’ve pretty much done like up to autumn/winter 2012, and I’m like, ‘Have we?’ Yeah!” It was easy? “Mmm-hmmm. Yeah, yeah, it was not hard at all, not hard at all, because, like …” Someone hands her a crayfish salad and removes the empty soup pot from her hands. “Thank you, baby!” she says to the provider of the salad. She turns back to me. “I knew exactly what I wanted. And I love Fred Perry so much. I was honored that they would even, like, ‘Do you want to come and do a line?’ Me? Like, me?” She stabs a finger into her chest. “Yeah!” she adds.

Amy is AWARE: “I’m aware I’m being recorded,” Winehouse says. “Just so you know. I am aware of that.”

Do you consider yourself a style icon? “A style, like, what?” A style icon, I repeat. “Style, like … ?” Icon! “No, of course not!”

Amy on her style: “Uh-huh. I don’t think that’s true. I just dress like … I’m an old black man. Sorry!” she says. “Like I’m an old Jewish black man. I just dress like it’s still the ’50s.”

On inspirations: “What are my inspirations … ? Elizabeth Taylor.” You want to look like Taylor? “Not really. She had purple eyes. That’s weird. Um …” She pauses, then warms to a line of thought: “Thelonious Monk. Charlie Mingus. Miles Davis … Thelonious Monk again, and then rappers that are around right now, like Nas, um, um, Busta Rhymes, and Mos Def.” Any style inspirations? “I don’t know.” She seems exasperated. “I like …” She reaches around for a fashion reference. She finds one. “Chanel.”

Amy, are you happy? She squints suspiciously at me. “About what?” About life. “I’m happy about this salad.”

And do you have any unfulfilled ambitions? “Nope!” she says. “If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

I mean… come on. Yes, it’s partly sad because Amy couldn’t even be cognizant enough to go through what seemed like a breezy, short, nice little interview. It’s also funny because I wish more celebrities consented to being interviewed whilst guzzling soup from a pan and naming Thelonious Monk as their style icon. God bless Amy. She’s going to need it.

Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar.

Those words actually came out of Amy Winehouse’s mouth: “I’m much healthier now… I haven’t used drugs in almost three years.” So what of all the dirty ballerina slippers of doom and all of the cat-scratch fever? You mean she wasn’t on drugs?!? Actually, I’m almost positive that Amy is BFFs with Jack Daniels and Jose Cuervo. But maybe she is off the crack. Amy gave this interview to Glamour UK (excerpted in People) where she describes her drug-free existence, and explains how it’s all for her new clothing line. That’s right. Have you ever wanted to dress like Amy? No? Too bad.

As she prepares to show off her new range of clothing designed for British sportswear firm Fred Perry, Amy Winehouse says she’s been drug-free for three years and is in a better place.

“I’m much healthier now,” she tells the U.K. edition of Glamour in its November issue. “I used to use drugs and I haven’t used drugs in almost three years. I literally woke up one day and was like, ‘I don’t want to do this any more.’”

While her private life around her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil was in such turmoil, she says she focused on her fashion line.

“I went through a lot of trouble with my ex-husband, so I had such a long time to think about the collection.”

The divorced singer has drawn on her own tastes to design the chic line—and she models it for singer-turned-photographer Bryan Adams in the magazine.

“I like ’40s and ’50s stuff. I played Rizzo in Grease when I was a kid at school, and I’ve always worn bowling shirts and things like classic trenchcoats.”

The collection starts at a size six (U.K.) because she wanted to be able to wear them.

“When I started eating right, I lost quite a lot of weight,” she explains. “Everyone thinks it was because of my lifestyle. It was because my eating habits got a lot better and I came to my natural weight. I’m not really skinny but I’m tiny and I couldn’t really get anything because they didn’t do a size six.”

[From People]

I can’t really hate on her for starting a clothing line, everybody is doing it these days. I would have paid good money to see Amy at the meetings with the designers and buyers, though. Can you imagine how much fun Amy is at business meetings?

By the way, the photo below is of a sober Winehouse a few days ago… look at that coat! If that coat is part of her line, then things are looking up.

Assorted Winehouse photos from the past few months. Credit: WENN.

Sometimes I wish this site was the kind of place where I could just throw some photos up and write “Presented without comment.” Because what else can you say about Amy Winehouse in these photos? She had been doing so well too. To my memory, she’s only been a drunken public mess twice over this summer, and that’s doing really good for her. But I suspect I know what’s going on with Amy Winehouse in these photos. It’s one (or more) of the following:

1. Rabies.

2. She has to go potty.

3. It feels good to scratch.

4. She’s drunkenly acting out after her boyfriend Regg Travis was spotted with ex-girlfriend very, very early one morning.

5. She’s back on the pipe.

6. She’s trying not to tip over with the added weight of her drunken crack tittays.

7. She’s so high she thinks she’s a kitten-butterfly hybrid.

8. What? This is NORMAL.

9. She has to mark her territory.

10. She ran out of toilet paper.

11. This is how the kids are getting high now.

12. All of the above.

Winehouse on August 25, 2010. Credit: WENN.

I kept debating whether or not to write about these photos, just because I think Amy’s shadowy nipple is in every one of them. But, at the end of the day, everybody has seen Amy’s nipples, so what’s the big deal? Even children have seen them – she shows them to everyone. But our Amy is trying to be a classy bitch these days! And she actually achieves it sometimes, mostly thanks to her boyfriend Reg Traviss, who insisted that she get sober. Well, there have been some ups and downs, and at least two major London nights out while three sheets to the wind (and wearing dingy ballerina slippers). Methinks that Reg should just throw out the ballerina slippers and see if the shoes and the alcohol really are connected.

Anyway, Amy got all dolled up! She’s wearing real heels and her sober tittays are out and all is well. Reg looks rather dashing, actually. He must be great in bed for Amy to even try to give up the sauce for him. Of course, after you’ve been with Blake Incarcerated, I guess everybody is good in bed.

By the way, I’m not going to show this one photo, but you can click on it in the thumbnails – look at the closeup of Amy’s sober tittay. Look at how jacked those things are! She’s got crazy stretch marks on them too! Ugh. Gross.

Amy in London with Reg on August 4, 2010. Credit: WENN.