Follow Up of the Day: Despite reports from various anonymous sources that Amy Winehouse’s death was preceded by a week-long bender leading up to the purchase of “a cocktail of narcotics” in the hours before her untimely demise, the Metropolitan Police released a statement today saying the cause of death remained “unexplained,” adding, cryptically, that “no arrests in connection with the incident.” An autopsy will likely be scheduled tomorrow morning.
Amy’s family released a statement of their own today, asking for “some privacy and space” as they come together to remember their “wonderful daughter, sister, niece,” whose death has left “a gaping hole in our lives.” Janis Winehouse, Amy’s mother, spoke out last night, saying her daughter “seemed out of it” when they last met, 24 hours before her death, and that she felt it was “only a matter of time” before something terrible happened.
Frequent collaborator and Back To Black producer Mark Ronson took to Twitter to express his shock, tweeting “she was my musical soulmate & like a sister to me. this is one of the saddest days of my life.” Singer M.I.A. also took to Twitter to dedicate a previously unreleased song called “27″ to Amy Winehouse and “all my friends that died at 27.” On his blog, recovering addict Russell Brand wrote a long, heartrending goodbye to his friend Amy. “Not all of us know someone with the incredible talent that Amy had,” Brand writes, “but we all know drunks and junkies and they all need help and the help is out there.”
Amy’s goddaughter and protégé, 15-year-old British soul singer-songwriter Dionne Bromfield, was joined on stage last Wednesday by her godmother, who danced and clapped while Bromfield sang “Mama Said”. This would be Amy Winehouse’s last public appearance.
Bromfield performed again yesterday, just two hours after news of Amy’s death began to spread. “We would have perfectly understood if she hadn’t wanted to perform,” said a spokesman for the show’s promoter, “but she very bravely did.”
[cnn / dailymail / tmz: 1,2 / mirror / @iammarkronson / p4k / bbc / photo: amywinehouse.]