Amy Winehouse_ The Biography - Chas Newkey-Burden [38]
If so, it worked. The Mirror ran the story big, under the headline AMY WINO! EXCLUSIVE: SINGER DRUNK FOR CHARLOTTE CHURCH TV CHAT. The Daily Telegraph added that Amy was ‘outrageous, but out of this world’, and millions more have by now watched the footage of her performance on the Internet, where it has become a hit. Many chat and light-entertainment shows have benefited from having a controversial or drunken appearance. From Oliver Reed to George Best and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, it’s a well-trodden path. Indeed, such is the competition in today’s television world that it could be argued that such shows have no hope of succeeding without such an incident.
As well as criticising Amy’s performance on the night, Church also got stuck into her about her cancellation of her US tour. She said, ‘It’s rude if you ask me. I always turned up and did my duties.’ When confronted with these remarks, Amy snapped, ‘Church is an arrogant cow. And Bono isn’t much better. He thinks he’s God.’ Of her appearance on the show, she said, ‘I was drunk. Charlotte invited me on the show, so she must know I’m a bit of a liability.’
Amy was not the only person to put in a tipsy and controversial appearance on The Charlotte Church Show. In the same series, comedian Johnny Vegas sank bitter and cocktails, leched over female guests and turned the interview into an absurdity. An audience member said, ‘It was like watching a car crash. Johnny was off his face and took every opportunity to wind her up – she didn’t have the experience to keep him under control.’ At one point, Church reminded Vegas that they had performed karaoke at her mother’s hotel the previous year and Vegas replied, ‘Yes, and I shagged your grandma too.’ He also had a pop at his host’s music, saying, ‘I listened to your album and it was shit.’ Losing her patience, Church snapped and shouted, ‘Shut the fuck up,’ and slapped the comic.
Not that all this controversy did Church much harm. She was soon picking up awards, including Best Female Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards and Funniest TV Personality at the Loaded magazine LAFTA awards. She also got the series recommissioned by Channel 4. Andrew Newman, head of entertainment and comedy at Channel 4, said, ‘Charlotte has proved herself to be a hugely talented star and has got better and better each week.’ Maybe Charlotte owes Amy one.
While Amy had made many laugh with her performance on The Charlotte Church Show, she had people in stitches of laughter on BBC panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Her first appearance on the show came in March 2004. Memorable moments included when Phill Jupitus recounted some rumours about Lou Reed and Amy let out a rising whistle, which prompted general laughter. ‘It’s my Jewish-mother cluck noise,’ she explained. The show’s then host, Mark Lamarr, quipped that she sounded like a cheap firework. During the intros round – which was adapted for this edition so the contestants hummed the instrumental break, rather than the intro, for each song – she was described by Jupitus as sounding like an angry kitten. ‘It’s because I’m small,’ she protested. ‘I can’t manipulate my voice like a big man like you can.’
Having been compared to a firework and kitten, she was then asked if she was ‘a cockney rabbi’. Then there was just time for her song ‘Stronger Than Me’ to form a part of the final lyrics round, for Lamarr to mention her childhood band Sweet ’n’ Sour and then the show was over. A fairly typical Buzzcocks edition, but one that scarcely hinted at the entertainment to come during her second appearance on the show, which came in November 2006.
Lining up alongside GMTV presenter Penny Smith, Alex Pennie and Andrew Maxwell, Amy put in an absolutely majestic