• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 770 0

for her lateness and gave a triumphant performance, which was received rapturously by the audience. Crucially, ‘she seems to be reconnecting with the simple highs of performing before an audience who love her’, wrote reviewer Dave Simpson in the Guardian. Having noticed a young girl in the audience with a ‘fantastic’ beehive haircut, she passed her a present. She also implored her audience to send a present of their own to Blake. ‘I’m going to send him a bouquet of flowers. And I want everyone here to send Blake a red rose.’ She then gave out his address at London’s Pentonville Prison, where he was on remand. After a few drinks with her band, Amy went to stay with an aunt and uncle. They watched Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.

It wasn’t only family who were lifting her spirits. Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty was also in regular contact with Amy during this troubling period. ‘I speak to Amy almost every day,’ he said. ‘She just wants her man back for Christmas. They’re desperately in love. One good thing is that Blake’s got clean since he’s been in prison. It’s been quite an awakening. Amy stopped doing everything since he went in. She realises how much they have to lose. They’re going to lose each other if it carries on. Love, music and melody is the way forward.’

However, Amy had less than glowing words to say about Doherty during Blake’s continued incarceration in 2007. ‘Why have they given Pete so many chances? It’s not fair that my Blake is locked away,’ she said. ‘I thought they would give him bail, just like they do with Pete.’

Then, she was seen giving a cigarette to a random drunk guy called ‘Des’, who claimed he had waited for five hours to talk to the singer after he was refused entrance to a club. Amy lent him a smoke, which she signed ‘Amy Civil’ before boarding her tour bus. As the following day’s papers delighted in reporting, Amy appeared to have a white substance around her nose, sparking conclusions that she had been snorting cocaine. WINEHOUSE GOES BACK TO WHITE, said the Sun. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail quipped, IS IT IMPOLITE TO ASK IF YOU’VE BEEN TO POWDER YOUR NOSE, AMY WINEHOUSE? Then came Blackpool, where she told the crowd of Blake, ‘He would have loved to have been here. I spoke to him last night but I can only call either before or after EastEnders.’ Nice detail.

Two fantastic concerts at Brixton Academy followed. At the start of the first, Amy bounced onto the stage looking full of life. As the opening bars of the set opener, ‘Addicted’, kicked in, she tried to grab her guitar but the strap was tangled in the guitar stand and a desperate struggle ensued in order for her to make it to the microphone in time for her first verse. This was as close as the evening came to disaster.

However, prior to her third London concert, this time at the Hammersmith Apollo, Amy reportedly locked herself in her hotel room and refused to go to the venue. Her management team spent some time desperately trying to coax her out, with one being overheard saying, ‘I can’t take this any more. She’s a nightmare!’ She eventually turned up on the stage an hour late at 10.15 p.m., by which time boos were echoing across the venue and some fans were already demanding refunds.

Fans were quoted as describing the performance as a shambles. ‘I paid to see Amy, not some spaced-out girl wandering around,’ said one. Another added, ‘I’ve never seen so many people leave a gig early. Get help, Amy.’ To be fair, the sentiments aired by fans on the forum of her official website were even harsher. One vowed never to buy a ticket to any acts signed to her record label ever again. The Daily Mail slated her appearance, saying her ‘smeared make-up, tattoos and a cigarette clenched between her teeth’ shocked her fans. It’s safe to say that most of her fans would have been aware that Amy smoked and had one or two tattoos on her body, so their shock would presumably have been minimal at best.

At least Amy could console herself with the news that the leading US magazine Entertainment Weekly had voted her the ‘most buzzed-about star’. Meanwhile,