Steven Baxter

Patrolling the murkier waters of the mainstream media

Even in death, Winehouse is not granted privacy or respect

All that prurient poking into the singer's private life might have been part of the problem.

By Steve Baxter Published 26 July 2011 13:35

Amy Winehouse's sad, lonely, early death is a tragedy. It is a human tragedy for the young woman herself, and her family and friends; and a different kind of tragedy for the tabloid press who so enjoyed feasting on her misery and despair while she was alive. It will have to make do with feasting on the misery of her family, now the golden goose has gone.

It would be too much to hope that, in death, Winehouse could find the kind of privacy and respect she didn't have in life. Even from before the moment the blanket-covered body was taken away from the flat where life left it, it has been a feeding frenzy. Even when she died, the press still hounded her.

Today's Daily Mail, for example, has photos of Winehouse's tear-soaked mother and father looking at the fans' memorial that has sprung up in her street, along with a rather snippy colour piece about the apparent non-classiness of the tributes. It's not the only newspaper to be doing this. They're all feasting on the celebrity death, with varying levels of sincerity; some of the worst offenders in harassing and attacking Winehouse while she was alive are now repositioning themselves as grieving friends. It would be funny, if it weren't slightly sickening.

It's easy to sneer and make judgements on Winehouse's lifestyle, and post-Diana memorials in general; easy, too, to say "I told you so" or to think that this miserable death was a predictable thing. Because it's easy, a lot of people are doing it. It's more difficult, perhaps, to contemplate the way in which this life and death was gorged on by the writers and readers of redtops and trashy magazines alike, and wonder whether all that prurient poking into the singer's private life might have been part of the problem. That kind of question might raise uncomfortable answers; instead, it's simpler and less time-consuming to blame the addict for their "choices", and imagine that in a just world everyone is as capable as everyone else of avoiding the same destiny.

Now that Amy is dead, the paps can happily return to their well-worn perches outside Winehouse's residence, having been barred before, following a series of doorstep confrontations, photos of a tearful Winehouse outside (and inside) her home, and the usual intruding snatched shots of someone going about her daily life.

Perhaps in that gloomy street in Camden, there's a reunion of sorts going on; paparazzi are reminiscing about the time they caught Winehouse in an alleyway, or saw her bawling her eyes out in public, remembering the sky-high prices those photos made. Those glory days are gone now, of course. But how proud all those involved must be with their role in chasing a young woman struggling with addiction and personal problems, hounding her outside her home, and getting "friends" and hangers-on to dish the dirt on what was going on behind closed doors, when the lenses couldn't see.

Were we really fascinated by the stories of Amy's life, of her excesses, or her tempestuous relationships? We must have been; the photos and tales fetched high prices for those willing to do the dirtiest of dirty work, which means someone somewhere must have believed there was a strong market for them. In some small way, perhaps all of us who devoured the images and stories are in a way responsible for this most dreadful of outcomes. And all that's left is the grave, a fine and private place -- a private ceremony, and the end of a life.

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Tags: Amy Winehouse

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19 comments

Tue, 2011-07-26 15:53 — Daphne (not verified)

It's not "a gloomy street in Camden", FFS. It's Camden Square, which is broad, light, airy, leafy and well-to-do. You've just undermined an otherwise ok piece with your idiotic making-it-up, aimed, I assume, at making it seem even more squalid and sad than it already is.

Tue, 2011-07-26 15:59 — Alex (not verified)

@maxinemf, I don't think anyone is comparing the horrific tragedy in Norway to AW's passing. I do concur with the author's point that dealing with addiction is an incredibly difficult time for both the individual involved and their friends and families without the added glare of publicity. Voyeurism makes us as culpable as the dealers pushing their wares and the journalists who write the intrusive stories. The readers who choose to read them do so for titillation. Until it ceases to become a form of entertainment, what chance does anyone in the limelight have of trying to fight addiction?

Tue, 2011-07-26 17:04 — Nakwan chinga (not verified)

this is just more tattle. the only difference is that this tattle sells itself as anti-tattle. but its still tattle. Baxter, go do some real journalism you tattle-merchant

Tue, 2011-07-26 17:06 — Nakwan chinga (not verified)

no... seriously. When was the last effing time you investigated something Baxter. you twat.

Tue, 2011-07-26 17:26 — sianushka (not verified)

Wow. some really wise, well informed and empathetic comments about the nature of addiction on this thread. You all seem to really understand the nature of choice when it comes down to addiction and mental illness. Well done, really.

And Nakwan chinga - Steve Baxter is employed by the NS to write about how the media and tabloids etc behave. Hence why he writes articles that look at what the mainstream media are doing.

Tue, 2011-07-26 23:52 — Mawgen (not verified)

Daphne - you have completely misread the sentence. You don't think it would be a gloomy street with people mourning and turning up to lay down flowers? Dear me.

Steve - well written as always.

Fri, 2011-07-29 22:05 — Charlieman (not verified)

The photo accompanying this post features Amy Winehouse attempting to light the wrong end of her cigarette. It is a mistake that smokers occasionally make after a few beers. So a post that criticises press coverage of AW's lifestyle implies criticism of AW...

An appropriate photo to use alongside this post would be a positive one. I'll bet her corporate web site includes free to use publicity shots taken at concerts. How much did the NS pay to use that particular photo?

Wed, 2011-07-27 02:37 — Red Shift

It seems to me Amy really did go back; she went back to a time when women were less liberated, she identified with the music and style
of the 60s and the emotional all consuming dependence upon a guy who probably was out of his depth.

The pre-back Amy died long ago. She got stuck in in her own private outback and didn't return, couldn't free herself to return to have a great career.

And it's sad for this to happen to a woman in the 21st century, not 50 years in the past.

Fri, 2011-07-29 22:55 — Hugh Markey (not verified)

Sad end to a pop star who had something of a 'time travel' voice. Billie Holiday's life was no picnic and her end equally tragic. The state authorities did not need any help from the media of the day to make matters worse. However, her colleagues and the like did not have clean hands either.
How Frank Sinatra persevered. Changed wives, changed political parties, dropped life-long friends and on some matters practiced 'omerta'. Could be generous. Jeeze, the angle of that Trilby.
Nothing fazed the Man. And those 'come-backs!'
Confidential magazine and other celebrity scandal sheets hammered various stars of screen and stage. More effectively, Joe McCarthy and his posse of red-baiters succeeded in decimating the ranks of showbiz.
Louise B Meyer and Harry Cohn, not to mention Howard Hughes could not be 'dissed' without a career change or worse. And the 'Hat Squad' the muscle of the LA Bureau of Detectives, made sure every citizen kept his or her nose clean. No, let's keep politics out of this.
It's a different world but in those days it was no bed of roses for movie stars or celebrities. Or citizens. Then along came television, Uncle Milty and Dixon of Dock Green.
Sad Sacks

Wed, 2011-07-27 06:54 — Colin Sloss (not verified)

Think of poor old Sid he was a lot younger.

Tue, 2011-07-26 14:00 — Peter (not verified)

Not quite sure what the point of this piece is. Amy Winehouse wasn't treated particularly badly by the media and neither have her family and friends in the aftermath of her dead.

A case of 'write something, anything about Amy Winehouse' and 'will this do?'

Tue, 2011-07-26 14:00 — morgan peacock (not verified)

im very very sad that she had to go so young she was an amazing singer and im very sorry for wat she did in her life with the drugs and stuff but i dont think she deserved it and we will always remember her as the popstar that died so young or some might say the popstar that gave up her ife for drugs and boose and no matter wat anyone says about her life and how she lived well they just dont no the resons xx

Tue, 2011-07-26 14:00 — Paula White (not verified)

Thank you for this intelligent post. It's been saddening to see the picking over her death in the same way the press hawked on her life. Personally it was the constant comparisons of her passing being compared to other world events that seem most unecessary and hurtful and I wrote about that here: http://www.whitesocialmedia.co.uk/2011/07/theres-no-greater-pull-than-pe... As someone who also sees a family member struggling with their own demons, I can only take comfort that at least they don't have to do it in the critical spotlight.

Wed, 2011-07-27 14:03 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

Yea Sid and Nancy. Now there was a love story and a half. The really wild pop stars never get anywhere near 27.

Tue, 2011-07-26 14:27 — maxinemf

Let us not forget that AW's drug and alcohol addiction was self induced. Let us not forget too that AW courted the media; pick and chose options are not available. AW had access to the finest medical care and yet she chose a path of self destruction. I blame her parents too who seemed unwilling to afford the 24 hour care 365 days of the year that she clearly needed. Personally I feel more sympathy for the Norway massacre victims who really had no choice in the manner of their cold blooded killing. Let the manner of her deeath serve as a timely reminder that no amount of money and fame can protect a person from the ugly and lonely manner in which AW died. Clearly both parents were in denial about the extent of her problems.

Tue, 2011-07-26 15:20 — swatantra

Amy wasn't exactly a good role model for young girls, covered in tatoos and living an erratic lifestyle, all self induced. Her private life spilled out into the public arena with very little help from the pap. Because she flaunted her lifestyle she in a way brought this tragedy on herself, with the help of the Media and her fans who could have forced her to face up to reality but didn't.

Tue, 2011-07-26 15:37 — terry phillips (not verified)

hollywire mofok - have some respect - shame on you!!!

Tue, 2011-07-26 15:45 — terry phillips (not verified)

Live fast, die at 27: how Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain joined the 27 Club - and now Amy Winehouse.
An unlikely number of young artists - particularly musicians - die aged 27, just as they reach their creative peak and become fully fledged adults.
It's the age when you realise that the first flush of youth is truly over; the age when you teeter on the cusp of real life; the age when young athletes reach their peak. It's even the age when you can no longer use your young person's railcard...27, the doorway into adulthood, is a year imbued by history with a tragic resonance, nowhere more so than in the world of rock music where a scarily high number of “legends” have died aged 27, spawning the mythical “27 club”.
It came about in 1994 when Kurt Cobain, barely 27, shot himself in the head, his body pumped full of heroin and Valium. Twenty-five years earlier, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones had all died aged 27, the first three apparently from drug overdoses and Jones from an “accidental drowning” that to this day is shrouded in mystery and rumours of murder. There were plenty more too: for example, Robert Johnson, the Delta bluesman, who was poisoned, or Ron McKernan, the alcoholic Grateful Dead bassist.

“Of course late twenties is not that old,” says Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist. “But we spend an awful lot of our twenties defining ourselves with our jobs, with our relationships. When we reach 27 we've been trying so hard to reach certain goals - fame, money, success - that we might suddenly realise for the first time that we're not that happy after all. And we are supposed to be grown-up and responsible, and we don't feel ready.” Which is perhaps why it is so sad when people die at that age. Now interest in the “27 club” has been reignited by an exhibition featuring rare and unseen photographs of the five “main members”, opening tomorrow at the Proud Camden gallery, North London.

What was it these 27-year-olds had in common? Were they all just not ready to grow up? Jeremy Simmonds, author of Number One in Heaven: The heroes who died for Rock ‘n' Roll, agrees that the tragedy of a life lived fast, lost early, will always contribute to an artist's reputation. “But you also need to be what Americans refer to as a heritage artist,” he says. “Someone who's made a real difference to rock‘n'roll. Hendrix, Joplin, The Doors, Nirvana, The Stones - these are all bands and individuals whose music was truly great. And they never got to finish. Who knows what they would have gone on to produce if they were alive today?”