Though it’s been over six years since Amy Winehouse joined the twenty-seven club, for some reason certain parties–particularly her own father–can’t seem to let the already over pillaged soul rest in peace. As Asif Kapadia’s controversial documentary, Amy, showed us, Mitch, among others (especially and including Blake Fielder-Civil), didn’t seem to care as much about Amy’s mental health and well-being so much as her ability to remain a bankable celebrity and bring in the associated dough.
Apparently the associated dough that comes with royalties isn’t enough as Mitch has touted, “A musical celebrating her life and music is being talked about for the near future. It is something I’d really like to happen and I’ve said I’m happy for it to go ahead.” Which is strange since, when a fan-centric musical play called Amy was to be put on back in 2012 by the Denmark Royal Theater, Mitch felt obliged to put a halt on the production by revoking the rights to use her songs.
And yet now, perhaps when the well is running dry from the natural waning enthusiasm of the public without new content to generate continued interest in the “troubled” star, Mitch’s timing does, indeed, feel a bit suspect. Yet he claims, “We want to do something positive about how she developed her music. What we don’t hear is that she was clean of drugs for three years when she died.” Well then, how do you explain her death from alcohol poisoning?
The exploitation of a life not necessarily ideal for showcasing a “positive” message (other than don’t drink and die–ergo the more cautionary tale route) is just one of Mitch’s gimmicks masquerading as “preserving her legacy.” Like the response film to Amy he’s determined to get out into the world as well, a documentary he deemed “spiteful” in the face of its strategically objective use of old interviews, photos and voiceover. But sometimes the hardest thing for a parent to do is take responsibility for fucking their child up, especially when there’s still a few gold coins left to shake out of the corpse.
