Amy Winehouse_ The Biography - Chas Newkey-Burden [50]
After speaking to Mitch, Amy and Blake left the hotel on Thursday morning in a silver Mercedes. Naturally, the press obsession with the story was to go on for days. Many reports suggested that Blake might have beaten up Amy. But she was quick to dispute these claims, using a seemingly unconventional route to do so.
Mario Lavandeira, better known as Perez Hilton, is a celebrity blogger. Based in Los Angeles, California, he has built up an extraordinary level of contacts and influence in the world of showbiz. His blog was originally called PageSixSixSix.com – after the Page Six gossip column of the New York Post – and is now known simply as perezhilton.com. He claims to have up to 8 million page views in any twenty-four-hour period. He has become close friends with the US socialite Paris Hilton – hence his nickname – and is often turned to by celebrities across the globe who wish to get their story out to the masses quickly, and with some control over the message.
It was Perez Hilton that Amy turned to when she wished to dispute reports that Blake had beaten her up during their infamous stay at the Sanderson Hotel. She sent a series of text messages to Hilton, asking him to put the truth up on his website. ‘Blake is the best man in the world,’ read one such text. ‘We would never ever harm each other… I was cutting myself after he found me in our room about to do drugs with a call girl and rightly said I wasn’t good enough for him. I lost it and he saved my life.’
Amy then said that, far from hurting her, Blake had actually been responsible for saving her life. She wrote,
He did not and never has hurt me. He has such a hard time and he is so supportive… He is an amazing man who saved my life again and got cut badly for his troubles. All he gets is horrible stories printed about him and he just keeps quiet, but this is too much. I’ll be alright. I need to fight my man’s corner for him though.
It is hardly surprising that there was so much concern for Amy’s wellbeing, particularly given that the episode happened while they stayed in a hotel. Time after time, Amy and Blake’s relationship has been compared to that of Sex Pistols member Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. ‘Sid and Nancy’ – as they are always referred to – also had a high-profile and notorious relationship. They seemed stuck in a cycle of self-destruction, drug abuse and violence. In October 1978, the couple checked into room 100 of the Hotel Chelsea in New York City. One morning, Vicious awoke from a drug-induced stupor to discover his girlfriend dead on the bathroom floor. She had a single stab wound to her lower abdomen. The bed was also stained with blood. Vicious was later charged with murder, received bail and then died from a heroin overdose.
Following all the drama that Amy and Blake had been through, there was major disappointment but very little surprise when Amy decided to postpone her impending tour of the USA and Canada. It was not an easy decision to make but Amy, ever the perfectionist, decided that she would rather wait until she was ready to do herself and her fans justice, rather than turn up and give a half-hearted performance. Her camp said, ‘Due to the rigours involved in touring, Amy Winehouse has been advised to postpone her upcoming September US and Canadian tour dates… Plans are being made to reschedule her US tour for early 2008. Until then, Amy has been ordered to rest and is working with medical professionals to address her health.’
The venue for that rest could hardly have been more tranquil and beautiful. High on Morne Chastanet, overlooking St Lucia and the Caribbean, the Jade Mountain resort is utterly luxurious and mesmerising. The spacious, grand rooms each have their own private swimming pool and breathtaking views. Amy hoped their break at the £700-a-night