Amy Winehouse_ The Biography - Chas Newkey-Burden [32]
It was here that Amy developed her own cocktail. She calls it the Rickstasy, and the drink consists of three parts vodka, one part Southern Comfort, one part banana liqueur, and one part Bailey’s. ‘By the time you’ve had two of them you’re like, “Don’t even try and go anywhere. Sit down and stay down, until the birds start singing.”’
She should get one of the big breweries to release an Amy Winehouse-endorsed Rickstasy. It would sell like hot cakes.
After the disappointment she felt over so many aspects of the album Frank, Amy decided to enforce changes for her new venture. ‘I didn’t want to play the jazz thing up too much again,’ she says. ‘I was bored of complicated chord structures and needed something more direct. I’d been listening to a lot of girl groups from the fifties and sixties. I liked the simplicity of that stuff. It just gets to the point. So I started thinking about writing songs in that way.’
The differences told in many ways and Amy felt they gave her a more mature edge. ‘All the songs I write are about human dynamics, whether it’s with girlfriends, boyfriends or family. When I did the last album, Frank, I was a very defensive, insecure person, so when I sang about men it was all like, “Fuck you. Who do you think you are?” The new album is more, “I will fight for you; I would do anything for you”, or “It’s such a shame we couldn’t make it work.” I feel like I’m not so teenage about relationships.’
It was to be an album made of songs that she would be proud of and would therefore speak more fondly of than she did Frank. ‘I try to think about things before I say them nowadays,’ she confessed. ‘I’m a lot less defensive with this record. I’m just so proud of it. I think the record speaks louder than any of my stupid actions or things that I say.’
Whereas Frank earned full respect and recognition only some time after its release, Back to Black was to be an immediate hit in every sense of the word. Often dark, occasionally despairing but always beautiful and assured, it was an absolute triumph and firmly put Amy on the map of not just those who follow the music business keenly, but everyday folk, too, who simply appreciate a fine tune and a cracking vocal delivery.
It opened with the famous track, ‘Rehab’. Blending traditional soul with a modern twist, ‘Rehab’ is a joyful, brazen romp of a song that Aretha Franklin would have been proud of. With Mark Ronson at the production controls, the Motown-style horn section builds the drama over the backdrop of bells, handclaps, Wurlitzer organ and piano. It’s defiant, brash and unforgivably catchy. Lyrically, it is of course famously about her management team’s attempts to make her go into rehabilitation to address her drinking. As for Amy, she’d rather stay at home with her Ray Charles albums. She’s convinced she’ll be fine, in part because her dad has told her so. ‘Rehab’ is Amy’s most widely recognised song. It has been covered by Girls Aloud, Paolo Nutini, Justin Timberlake and Taking Back Sunday.
Of the song, Amy says, ‘I guess when you’re quite young and angry at the world, I didn’t want to write any songs about love, ever. Then I fell in love and I was like, “Oh, shit!” You know. I used to listen to a lot of stuff like Beastie Boys. I wanted to write loads of tongue-in-cheek songs like that so it was really easy to do something like “Rehab”.
The song was written about the time her management tried to get her to check in to the Priory Clinic in Southgate, North London. ‘I went in and the guy behind the desk says, “What we do is we’re filling out forms.” I said, “Oi, listen, don’t waste your time.” Then he goes, “Why do you think you’re here?” and I said, “I don’t think I’m an alcoholic, but I’m, you know, depressed. I think it’s symptomatic of depression.” And he said to me, “Well, I am an alcoholic, I’ve been here.” People who have that kind of rehab mentality, all they wanna do is tell you their story, so you feel better about telling them yours, but you