Amy Winehouse

Back to Black was released in the UK on 30 October 2006. It went to number one on the UK Albums Chart numerous times, and entered at number seven on the Billboard 200 in the US. It was the best-selling album in the UK of 2007, selling 1.85 million copies over the course of the year.

The album spawned a number of singles. The first single released from the album was the Ronson-produced "Rehab". The song reached the top ten in the UK and the US. Time magazine named "Rehab" the Best Song of 2007. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised Winehouse for her confidence, saying, "What she is is mouthy, funny, sultry, and quite possibly crazy" and "It's impossible not to be seduced by her originality. Combine it with production by Mark Ronson that references four decades worth of soul music without once ripping it off, and you've got the best song of 2007." Read Less

Winehouse was nominated for a MTV Europe Award in the Act of The Year category. Read Less

No charges were brought. Read Less

Her record company reportedly believed that her recovery remained fragile. Read Less

Her dishevelled appearance during and after a scheduled club night in September sparked new rumours of a relapse. Photographers were quoted as saying she appeared to have cuts on her legs and arms. Read Less

According to that same report, Winehouse as of 2 September had not been near a recording studio. It was noted that she had touring obligations during the summer and also that if an album was quickly recorded, it would be at least a year before an album could be released. In late October Winehouse's spokesman was quoted as saying that Winehouse had not been given a deadline to complete her third album, for which she was learning to play drums. Read Less

She urged the crowd to "make some noise for my Blake." In Paris she performed what was described as a "well-executed 40 minute" set at the opening of a Fendi boutique. Read Less

Although the set was plagued by a late arrival and problems with her voice, the crowd warmed to her. In addition to her own material she performed two Specials covers. Winehouse performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Party concert at London's Hyde Park on 27 June, and the next day at the Glastonbury Festival. On 12 July at the Oxegen Festival she performed a well-received 50 minute set which was followed the next day by a 14 song set at T in the Park. On 16 August she played at the Staffordshire leg of the V Festival, and the following day played the Chelmsford leg of the festival. Organizers said that Winehouse attracted the biggest crowds of the festival. Audience reaction was reported as mixed. On 6 September she was the headliner at Bestival. She performed what was described as a polished set which ended with her storming off the stage. Her hour late arrival caused her set to be cut off at the halfway point due to a curfew. Read Less

The documentary features interviews with those who knew her at a young age, helped her gain success, jazz music experts, as well as music and pop culture specialists. Read Less

The following year her fortune had dropped to an estimated £5m. Her finances are run by Mitch and Janis Winehouse. It was reported she earned about £1m singing at two private parties during Paris Fashion Week. as well as another £1m to perform at a Moscow Art Gallery for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Winehouse loaned a vintage dress used in her video for "Tears Dry on Their Own" as well as a DVD to the British Music Experience, a new museum dedicated to the history of British pop music. The museum, located in The O2, opened on 9 March 2009. Read Less

She voluntarily turned herself in and was held overnight. Police said, at her arrival she was "in no fit state" to be interviewed. Read Less

The Crown Prosecution Service considered charging her with possessing a controlled drug and allowing her premises to be used for the supply by others of a controlled drug, but she was cleared when the service could not establish that the substance in the video was a controlled drug. In reaction to the decision, former police commander John O'Connor said it is an "absolute scandal that nothing could be done" about Winehouse "cocking a snook at the law". Some members of Parliament also reacted negatively. Two London residents were subsequently charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and ecstasy to Winehouse. One of the pair was sentenced to two years in prison on 13 December 2008, while the other received a two-year community order. Read Less

Even as Nick Gatfield, the president of Island Records, toyed with the idea of releasing Winehouse "to deal with her problems", he remarked on her talent, saying, "It's a reflection of her status the U.S. that when you flick through the TV coverage the Grammys it's her image they use." Post-Grammys, some questioned whether Winehouse should have been honoured with the awards given her recent personal and drug problems, including Natalie Cole, who introduced Winehouse at the ceremony. Cole (who battled her own substance-abuse problems while winning a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1975) remarked, "I think the girl is talented, gifted, but it's not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too. She needs to get herself together." In an opinion newspaper commentary, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that the alleged drug habits of Winehouse and other celebrities send a bad message "to others who are vulnerable to addiction" and undermine the efforts of other celebrities trying to raise awareness of problems in Africa, now that more cocaine used in Europe passes through Africa. Winehouse's spokesperson called Costa a "ludicrous man" and noted that "Amy has never given a quote about drugs or flaunted it in any way. She's had some problems and is trying to get better. The U.N. should get its own house in order." Read Less

In its third annual list, Glamour magazine named Winehouse the third worst dressed British Woman. Winehouse was ranked number two on Richard Blackwell's 48th annual "Ten Worst Dressed Women" list, behind Victoria Beckham. Read Less

The piece, created by Guy Portelli, had a miniature of the singer lying on top of a cracked champagne bottle, with a pool of spilled liquid underneath. The body was covered with what appeared to be tiny pills, while one outstretched hand held a glass. Another piece, a print entitled "Celebrity 1" by artist Charlotte Suckling, was exhibited in the same exhibition. Read Less

The singer did not attend the unveiling, although her parents did. Read Less

Winehouse was released from The London Clinic 24 hours after returning from a temporary leave to perform at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday and at a concert in Glastonbury, and continued receiving treatment as an outpatient. Read Less

She also kept a vertical tanning bed in her apartment. Read Less

Winehouse was in and out of the facility and was granted permission to set her own schedule regarding home leave. Read Less

Throughout her life Winehouse donated her money, music and time to many charities, particularly those concerned with children. She was once named "the most charitable act" by Pop World. Whilst this side of her personality was never well known to the general public, throughout both the arts community and the charity community she was known for her generosity and was even known as a "soft touch". "Ask Amy and she'll do it" was a common phrase among the charity community in regards to Winehouse. Among the charities she generously supported included 21st century leaders; Adopt-A-Minefield; Anti-Slavery International; Breast Cancer Campaign; CARE (relief agency); Children of the Andes; Children's Medical Research Institute; Christian Children's Fund; City at Peace; Comic Relief; Great Ormond Street Hospital; Greenpeace; Healthlink Worldwide; Hear the World; Heifer International; Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen; Red Cross; LIFEbeat; Lifeline and Rape Crisis PMB; Opportunity International; Oxfam; Rights and Humanity; S.A.F.E. Save the Children; Save the Music Foundation; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital; Teenage Cancer Trust; Christina Noble Children's Foundation; Little Dreams Foundation; Lotus Outreach; Nelson Mandela Children's Fund; UNHCR; UNICEF; V-Day; WaterAid; World Neighbors. Read Less

From 21 July 2008 to 25 February 2009, Fielder-Civil was imprisoned following his guilty plea on charges of trying to pervert the course of justice as well as a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent. The incident, in July 2007, involved an assault on a pub landlord that resulted in a broken cheek. According to the prosecution the landlord accepted £200,000 as part of a deal to "effectively throw the court case and not turn up". The prosecution testified that the money used to pay off the landlord belonged to Winehouse, but that Winehouse pulled out of a meeting with the men involved in the plot, because she had to attend an awards ceremony. Read Less

She was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 court costs and £100 compensation to the man she attacked. Read Less

Mark Ronson said in July 2010 that he had not started to record the album. Read Less

She sang lead but forgot some of the song's lyrics. In October Winehouse performed a four song set to promote her fashion line. Read Less

Guests included other Russian tycoons and Russian show business stars. The tycoon hand picked the songs she played. Read Less

Drinking alcohol emerged as a problem with Winehouse abstaining for a few weeks then lapsing. Read Less

In 2006, Winehouse admitted punching a female fan in the face for criticising her having taken Blake Fielder-Civil as a husband. She then attacked her own spouse as he attempted to calm her down, kneeing him in the crotch.

In October 2007, Winehouse and her then-husband were arrested in Bergen, Norway, for possession of seven grams of marijuana. The couple were later released and fined 3850 kroner (around £350). Winehouse first appealed the fines, claiming she was "duped" into confessing, but later dropped the appeal. Read Less