Sex, Drugs And A Lot Of Soul - Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse is giving a TV interview, the problem is, once she starts talking, the words just flow out of her; she gets on a roll and can talk for hours. Gigwise struggles to wait patiently with every newspaper report and countless drunken TV show appearance firmly entrenched on our mind. Eventually she saunters in, ripped skinny jeans, Adidas jacket, and of course that trademark eyeliner and shock of black hair piled high on top of her head, adding an extra few inches to her tiny frame. But the wait isn’t over, “Sorry I’m just gonna call my boyfriend and tell him he’s a cunt.” A conversation follows in which the words Jack, and Daniels, are mentioned, and then she’s ready to begin.

The release of radio-friendly ‘Rehab’ has lead to an inevitable feeding frenzy by the tabloids to paint her as a diva on the edge. Add to that talk of a collaboration with Pete Doherty, and the rumour mill has begun turning nicely. The first thing Winehouse notices is the newspaper article sat on the table. A gossip feature reporting on her interview and dinner at a posh restaurant with a reporter from The Independent. Where, it claims, she didn’t eat anything and got particularly drunk, leading to speculation about her weight and alcohol problems.

“Can I have a look at that?” she asks, eyeing it cautiously before reaching over the table and reading aloud. “That’s actually a nice picture of me for once... ‘She didn’t look at the menu’ that’s correct… ‘She loudly ordered Champagne’… wrong… I don’t go to that pub… oh dear…” After just 2 minutes with her it’s easy to see that this diva reputation is all a construction, Winehouse is intelligent, articulate and enthusiastic, as well as being at times brutally honest and down to earth.

“The thing that bothers me is that they do get it wrong. But it also makes me laugh because I’m such a selfless person, I don’t go out all like, “Don’t you know who I am?” I’m the complete opposite of that, I’ll be out going, “Don’t you know who he is?! Look he’s pretty! Come here boy!” I’ll just be drunk and not a mess mess, but I don’t give a fuck.”

Immediately the subject of weight rears its ugly head, the article mentions “worried friends” and “eccentric eating habits.” But the tiny star openly admits to having eating disorders, and hopes talking about them she will help other girls. “I realise that I have a chance to bring certain things to certain people’s attention, not necessarily the masses, I’m not Bono.”

“My friends aren’t worried now; I’m a lot better than I was! And they’re not worried, primarily because I work so much I hardly see my friends. Everyone’s got their own shit to get on with and who gives a fuck about me missing a meal a day? I’ve had a flirtation with every eating disorder there is. I wouldn’t tie myself down to one. And then I realise that I have to eat and I will fatten myself up and put on half a stone in a week ‘cause I’m good like that.”

“Usually I would be like, “Fuck off I’m a musician, why do you wanna talk about that?” but I’ve realised that there are a lot of girls who are in exactly the same boat as me. People don’t know how hard it is, and how common it is, and how dangerous it can be. A lot of girls are ashamed, like I was ashamed. I used to make myself sick and be ashamed. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s a compulsion, if you can control it great, if you can’t then you are in the grip of something bigger than you. It’s not a physical thing; it’s very much a psychological thing. I’m glad I can talk about it.”

Fortunately she doesn’t feel pressure to be thin from being in the public eye, stating, “I don’t actually, I think it’s a security thing for me. I’m a musician; I’m not really a pop star, so that takes precedent.”