Amy Winehouse (19 page)

Georgette Civil concluded of Blake, ‘He wants her to feel as if they're still sharing life and he's with her every day. Blake thinks that if Amy has a little thing to do for him each day that'll propel her on, give her something to work towards and get her out of bed in the morning.'

Meanwhile, reports of Amy's emotional state varied wildly. One report had her making admiring small talk over
Big Brother
contestant Chantelle Houghton's breasts at a newsagent's. ‘Look at Chantelle's tits – I want a pair like that!' Amy is said to have told fellow shoppers.

‘Chantelle's boob job obviously made a big impression on her,' a source told the
Daily Star
. ‘Amy is desperate to make Blake happy and in her mixed-up mind having a boob op could be just the job.' Mitchell meanwhile reported, ‘Amy was visited by a doctor last night. And we're seeing to it that she's monitored very carefully, every single day. So far we're pleased with the way things are going. We're keeping a very close eye on her.'

Which was just as well, if the words of an unnamed friend of Amy's were to be believed. The friend told a newspaper, ‘Amy's had her problems but she's really terrified this time. She's teetering on the brink. She's already hatched a suicide pact with Blake. If they're both handed lengthy jail sentences she's determined they'll end it together rather than face years apart. She can't live without Blake. Her family are worried sick.'

The question of Amy's being handed a lengthy jail sentence came about when she was arrested and questioned over the alleged bribery plot on suspicion of which her husband was already in custody. By this time, as we have seen, Blake and five other men had been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, though denying all charges. Police then turned their attentions to Amy, confiscating her mobile-phone records, bank details and computer software. Officers also
visited the singer's accountants, the London-based firm Smallfield Cody, in an attempt to track her financial dealings.

‘A twenty-four-year-old woman has been bailed to return to an east London police station on a date in early March pending further enquiries,' said a police spokesperson on Amy's arrest. ‘She attended a police station voluntarily and at a pre-agreed time.' A spokesman for Amy said, ‘She was arrested but that is common practice for someone being interviewed by police. There have been no charges and she has been released.'

As for Blake, he was said to have been threatened by fellow inmates as part of a kidnap threat against Amy herself. A source said, ‘Blake's petrified. He's living in fear for Amy's life
and
his own. At first he thought the guys in here were just trying their luck but the threats have got really bad. He's now under no illusions and convinced they'll go through with what they say.'

The source added, ‘They've ordered Blake to pay the hundred grand into a secret bank account within the next few days or else… Amy will be snatched and harmed. She's at her weakest right now, and what with her wandering the streets in the dead of night she's at massive risk. Blake knows it'll be easy to bundle her off in a car without anyone batting an eyelid.'

Amy's life was not made any easier when it was revealed that she had been summoned to appear in a Norwegian court due to her appeal of a fine for marijuana possession. Liv Karlsen, a spokeswoman for police in the Norwegian city of Bergen, explained that this was normal practice. ‘If one appeals a
conviction, it's the rule that one has to appear in person. So this is not surprising.' Mitchell had already laid out the basis of Amy's defence against this charge during his interview on the
This Morning
television programme, maintaining that Amy had unwittingly signed a confession document written in Norwegian, thinking it was a release form. Police prosecutor Rudolf Christoffersen insisted police were ‘very certain the three knew what they were signing and they paid the fine on the spot'.

However, when she next boarded a plane it was not to Norway that Amy travelled but to Barbados, where she took a much-needed break. ‘Amy has been desperate to escape England and forget about her troubles for the past couple of months,' said a friend. ‘But she didn't want Blake to feel any more alone or abandoned than he already does, so she's waited as long as possible before booking anywhere. Blake's given her his full blessing, as he knows how stressed and out of sorts she's been of late. The plan is for Amy to have a sunshine break, enjoy a few cocktails – and stay away from drugs.

‘She's already made a few New Year's resolutions and hopes the trip will become a turning point in her life. Amy wants 2008 to be a year of consolidation and, more than anything, for it to be trauma-free. She's convinced that Blake will be cleared of all charges and is desperate for the couple to enjoy some regular marital stability.'

Other famous people holidaying there at the time included Simon Cowell, Gary Lineker, Michael Winner and Sir Philip Green. A famous name who wasn't in the Caribbean but was
positive about Amy at this time was Kylie Minogue. The petite pop legend was asked what was on her iPod and replied, ‘A lot of English regulars of the moment, like Arctic Monkeys and the Klaxons. Oh, and Amy Winehouse, needless to say.'

Also coming out in support of Amy at this time was Julie Burchill. She wrote in the
Sun
,

While relaxing in the Caribbean, Amy reportedly decided to renew her wedding vows with Blake once she was back in the UK. ‘They're missing each other terribly,' said a friend. ‘Amy wants them to repeat the same vows they took when they originally tied the knot in a £60 ceremony in Miami last May.'

P
redictions of Amy’s future normally centre on one of two paths: a magical musical comeback, or a drug-fuelled sprint towards an early grave. Those closest to her know that a third way is just as likely. Once, during an interview, Amy was asked to describe herself in five words. She replied, ‘Driven, motivated, easygoing, maternal, alcoholic.’ She added, ‘I’m very maternal. In my circle of fifteen close friends, at least ten of them call me Mum. They text me and say, “Mummy, are you coming out tonight?”’

But maternal Amy wants to be a mummy to more than her friends. She is keen to have children of her own. She says, ‘While I love music, I’d really love to have a family, and that’s the most important thing to me. That doesn’t mean I’m ready 
to start one right now, as I think I’ve got another album in me. In the long term I have more family plans. I’ve got to a point where I’ve made an album which I’m proud of. Now I need to follow that up, but to have kids as well. Then go to Vegas, open my own casino and perform there every night!’

More maternal muttering was forthcoming when she was asked where she sees herself in 10 years time. ‘Well, I’ll have at least three beautiful kids,’ she replied. ‘I want to do at least four or five albums and I want to get them out of the way now. And then I want to take ten years out to go and have kids, definitely. I never used to be broody, but then I realised that I’m turning into a soppy bitch. Goodness in life comes from a sense of achievement and you’d get that from having a child and putting it before yourself.’

She dreams of parenthood and of further albums, but more important than either of these aspirations for Amy must be regaining a sense of control over the chaos that has engulfed her life. With her drink and drug issues, together with Blake’s incarceration on remand, 2007 saw her challenged on many fronts. However, 2008 was to be just as dramatic for Amy and her husband. The central act of the drama came in July, when Blake and his friend Michael Brown both admitted grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice. Blake was sentenced to 27 months by the judge, who told him: ‘In joining in that attack by kicking out at Mr King after he had already been both punched and kicked by Mr Brown you behaved in a gratuitous, cowardly and disgraceful way’.

Amy was not present at Snaresbrook Crown Court for the
sentencing, but she had already offered her own commentary on the case in a typically bizarre manner. When she appeared at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday party at Hyde Park, she took to the stage to one of the loudest cheers of the night, and performed ‘Rehab’ and ‘Valerie’. She then left to more rapturous acclaim. But it was never going to be as simple as that. When she returned to the stage at the end of the night, to lead the entire ensemble through the Specials’ iconic hit ‘Free Nelson Mandela’, she gave the lyrics her own personal twist. ‘Freeeee, Blakey my fella,’ she sang over the chorus at one point. Jaws dropped across the park. Reaction was divided between those who thought it was little short of obscene for her to compare her drug-addled husband with one of the finest figures in human history on the occasion of his 90th birthday, and those who thought it was a moment of typical cheeky genius from Amy, whose wit had always equalled her musicianship.

She then performed at a series of festivals, including Glastonbury, the Oxegen Festival, V, and T In The Park. During the course of these shows Amy served up her increasingly familiar live-performance cocktail: the wonderful, the weird and the wasted. The most dramatic moment came at Glastonbury when she appeared to punch a fan in the front row of the audience. ‘You don’t even know how happy I am to be here tonight,’ she had earlier told the audience. Her happiness had clearly subsided when she lashed out at the fan. She topped off the night by spitting chewing gum into the crowd and calling rapper Kanye West a ‘c**t’. Thank you, and good night.

This was almost the last that live audiences were to see of Amy for a while, because she had by this stage been diagnosed with emphysema according to her father. ‘Theres a small amount there which hasn’t gone too far and it’s completely repairable,’ said Mitch. He added that she would therefore be taking a break from live performances once her contractual obligations had been fulfilled. Mitch, who had by this time become something of a celebrity himself, was trying his hardest to bring some serenity into his daughter’s life.

Meanwhile, Amy was once more appearing in media polls, both positively and negatively. For instance, she appeared in the
NME
’s 2008 Villain of the Year poll, but also in the same title’s Best Solo Artist and Best DVD polls.
Glamour
magazine named her the third-worst dressed British woman, but then
Sky News
viewers named her the second-greatest Ultimate Heroine. She had topped the voting among viewers under 25 years old. These polls are a mere selection of those she graced, and reflect perfectly the ‘love her or hate her, you can’t ignore her’ position Amy occupies in the public psyche.

Her relationship with Blake has always been a mixed bag, too. When he was released from prison in November 2008, he checked straight into rehab in Surrey. Far from rushing to see him, Amy was instead photographed out and about in London, up to her normal late-night jolly japes. She failed to see him at all during his first month of freedom, even when he launched an (unsuccessful) bid to appeal against his conviction. The grapevine was soon abuzz with rumours that she was in the process of divorcing Blake. ‘It’s over. There’s no
way back for us now,’ Amy is said to have told friends. ‘It was never going to last. I fancied him like mad, like no one else I’ve ever known. But it’s not enough, is it?’ Amy would have to travel far and wide to find anyone who believed she should stay with Blake. Soon after she prepared to dump Blake, he reportedly admitted in a taped interview to
News of the World
what many had long suspected: that he introduced Amy to hard drugs.

‘I introduced her to heroin, crack cocaine and self-harming,’ said Blake. ‘I feel more than guilty. The first time Amy took crack she asked me, “Can I try a bit of that?” Crack is the nastiest drug. It makes you paranoid, unreasonable, edgy and totally suspicious of everyone.

‘And you can get hooked on it straight away. But I was weak and an addict and I let Amy take some. I didn’t stop it from happening. For that I take full responsibility. It became something we did as well as heroin. And then our lives fell apart.’ It is to be hoped both parties can rebuild their lives – separately.

As Blake made this confession, Amy was once again in hospital, her fourth hospitalisation in 2008. It had been a strange year for her, during which her immense musical talent and the magnetic charm of her best live performances became secondary concerns. What she instead became known for was her ability to spark negative press stories about her painfully thin body, her drink and drug use and other controversies. Things got so wild that at one point her father Mitch attempted to have her sectioned to a mental institution. With
the media following her every move, Amy seemed to many to be on an unstoppable downward spiral.

Where was the music among all this chaos? It was there for anyone who cared to look beyond the ‘shock horror’ of the tabloids. Back To Black continued to shift throughout the world, with its 11million-plus sales contributing to her topping the charts in the United States. A deluxe version of the album was released in the UK and quickly topped the charts here, too. Back To Black is one of the top ten bestselling albums of the 21st century and royalties from its sales constitute a large slice of her estimated £10million personal fortune. Whatever problems she has in her personal life, Amy has no trouble shifting albums.

Nor in gathering serious musical awards. In May 2008 she was once more nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello award, and once more she was triumphant. She won the award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for ‘Love is a Losing Game’. Amy was also nominated in the same category for ‘You Know I’m No Good’. Organisers said that it was the first time that an artist had been twice-nominated in the category since the awards began in 1955. Mitch accepted the award on her behalf, saying: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing up here. Amy unfortunately couldn’t make it but she’s getting better and she sends you all her love.’ As it turned out Amy could make it, and arrived – fashionably late – during her father’s acceptance speech.

That triumphant evening did little to dispel the media witch-hunt against Amy. Perhaps the only way she will be able to cool their ardour will be to bounce back with some cracking
new material. Her record label has been duly encouraging her to deliver a third album. Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grange says the early samples of material he has heard are extremely promising. He said: ‘I've heard some demos and I've heard some simple acoustic songs that she's played me in my office on acoustic guitar. What I've heard has been sensational I’m an optimist and I believe in her. I believe in her as a person and I certainly believe in her as an artist and that's what I hope for.’

As do all Amy’s fans, who were greatly cheered as Amy appeared to turn a corner as she partied in St Lucia at the turn of the year. Having spent several weeks drug-free, she flew to the island just before Christmas and stayed there for several weeks. It turned out to be a headline-grabbing sojourn but mostly for good reasons. Amy looked a picture of health as she took trapeze lessons and put on an impromptu circus show for her fellow tourists. She also performed at the hotel bar in the evenings, playing piano and singing for the guests. Also included in her holiday repertoire were a topless balcony boogie and an hilarious impressions of a horse.

She was keen to share her joy. Not only did she spend tens of thousands of pounds flying out friends to join her on the island, she generously splashed out thousands more on meals and drinks for strangers. Her dark relationship with
Fielder-Civil
seemed a distant memory as she was photographed basking in the sunshine on the arm of a hunky former rugby player. It all looked great fun and seemed to represent a
much-needed
fresh start for Amy. ‘I’ve finally escaped from hell,’ she
told a reporter. ‘Before I came out here I looked at a photo of myself in the paper and was horrified. My skin was a spotty mess and I was so pale and skinny. I thought “Girl, you’ve got to sort yourself out or you’ll be dead soon”. I was depressed, doing drugs and had no life in me at all. Coming here has changed everything. I don’t need drugs.’

While reflecting on these facts as she looked out into the Caribbean ocean, Amy noticed a six-foot wave crash against a boat. The impact caused a woman to be flung overboard from the boat, landing among some rocks. Amy immediately rushed to her aid as the woman was in agony and in danger of being swept to her death. Amy carried her to safety and then washed and dressed her wounds. The doomsayers love to predict an early death for Amy. Yet there she was, happy and healthy and saving the life of someone else. To those who know the caring ‘Jewish mumma’ side of Amy best, her heroics came as little surprise. Long may her new-found health and happiness continue.