Amy Winehouse may have gone too soon, but she is still very much loved by the fans around the world even until today. In fact, hundreds of fans even gathered at Camden, London for the unveiling of Amy’s life-sized statue on 14th September.
3 years ago, the late singer Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on July 23rd after years of abusing alcohol since 2008. Before she died, she abstained herself from alcohol for a few weeks but relapsed and that..led to her death. She became one of the late musicians who joined the 27 Club, a group of musicians who died at the age of 27.
In remembrance of Amy Winehouse, fans (including us) have been paying tribute to her in various ways and she was recently honoured with a life-size bronze statue at her birth place, Camden in London. Created by sculptor Scott Eaton, the tribute statue commemorates what would have been her 31st birthday. It depicts the late singer all dressed up in a short dress while wearing a live red rose in her signature beehive hair-do. It also includes a Star of David necklace placed around her neckline.
Amy’s father, Mitch Winehouse, who was involved in the design of the statue, unveiled the statue together with his wife Janis and English actress Barbara Windsor. He told The Guardian that it was a day of incredibly mixed emotions as he felt both sad and wonderful for the statue. He said:
They don’t put statues up for people who are with us anymore so it reinforces the fact that physically she’s gone but spiritually she’ll never leave us. I feel sad, very, very sad. We shouldn’t be here but we are, this is the reality and we’ve just got to make the most of it. So this statue is part of making the most of it.
However, Mitch said that getting people to remember her in a very positive way is a wonderful experience for him. He vowed to visit the beautiful sculpture all the time after getting used to see it. He also added, “I am pleased with how the statue turned out because you can see that it’s Amy. It is soon but it was beyond our control – events overtook events but we’re very proud of it. Camden is Amy’s place, it’s where she belongs.”
Image via Rolling Stone
In case you were wondering, Barbara Windsor was Amy Winehouse’s long-time friend who became a patron of Amy Winehouse charitable foundation. The foundation was set-up by Amy’s family after her death in July 2011. She attended the unveiling and said this is the greatest honour of her career after being in this business for 66 years.
She added:
I was one of the fortunate people who got to know Amy in the last few years of her too short life. Not only was she one of the greatest talents that this country has ever produced, she was a warm, lovely kind and fun lady. She was what we call in our business a superb bird, that’s what she was.
Although Amy is no longer with us, Windsor said “it’s only right her presence should remain here” as “Amy loved Camden with a passion and Camden loved her”.
Happy 31st birthday, Amy! We miss you <3
(Source)