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Fans Honor Amy Winehouse as 'Back to Black' Turns 20
Confirmed
In Short: Fans and musicians celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amy Winehouse's album 'Back to Black' with a special London show.
Fans and musicians are commemorating the 20th anniversary of Amy Winehouse's album 'Back to Black' with a special London show on October 21, featuring performances by Mark Ronson, FLO, and Jorja Smith.
The album, released on October 27, 2006, catapulted Winehouse into the mainstream, earning her critical acclaim and commercial success.
Winehouse's mother, Janis, led tributes to her daughter on the 15th anniversary of her death, highlighting the enduring impact of her music.
In a newly resurfaced interview from 2007, Winehouse expressed her fear of dying without making her mark, but also her pride in the success of 'Back to Black'.
The interview, conducted just days after her marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, revealed Winehouse's personal aspirations and her disdain for the critical nature of reality shows like American Idol.
Winehouse's success with 'Back to Black' was a significant milestone, with the album quickly certified gold in the US and selling over a million copies in the UK.
An anniversary edition of 'Back to Black' is being released, featuring previously unreleased demos, rare B-sides, and never-before-seen photos.
Winehouse's influence is still felt in Camden, her home borough, where her images from the album's cover shoot are displayed in an open-air exhibition.
Winehouse's personal style, blending retro fashion and streetwear, was a reflection of her unique personality and artistic vision.
Fans and artists continue to celebrate Winehouse's legacy, recognizing her as a talented artist who left an indelible mark on the music industry.
Background
Back to Black is the second and final studio album by the English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who temporarily left her to pursue an ex-girlfriend.
What's confirmed
- Fans and musicians are commemorating the 20th anniversary of Amy Winehouse's album 'Back to Black' with a special London show on October 21, featuring performances by Mark Ronson, FLO, and Jorja Smith.
- The album, released on October 27, 2006, catapulted Winehouse into the mainstream, earning her critical acclaim and commercial success.
- Winehouse's mother, Janis, led tributes to her daughter on the 15th anniversary of her death, highlighting the enduring impact of her music.
- In a newly resurfaced interview from 2007, Winehouse expressed her fear of dying without making her mark, but also her pride in the success of 'Back to Black'.
- The interview, conducted just days after her marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, revealed Winehouse's personal aspirations and her disdain for the critical nature of reality shows like American Idol.
- Winehouse's success with 'Back to Black' was a significant milestone, with the album quickly certified gold in the US and selling over a million copies in the UK.
- An anniversary edition of 'Back to Black' is being released, featuring previously unreleased demos, rare B-sides, and never-before-seen photos.
- Winehouse's influence is still felt in Camden, her home borough, where her images from the album's cover shoot are displayed in an open-air exhibition.
- Winehouse's personal style, blending retro fashion and streetwear, was a reflection of her unique personality and artistic vision.
- Fans and artists continue to celebrate Winehouse's legacy, recognizing her as a talented artist who left an indelible mark on the music industry.
What's still developing
- In the interview, Winehouse looked back at how she was discovered when performing at a jazz club in London at age 16, and asked if – had she not found success as a singer so early on – she could “handle obscurity”.
- — The Times and Sunday Times (@thetimes) October 10, 2026 She also spoke about the huge response to ‘Back To Black’, saying that she was “really proud” of herself and just wanting “other people around me to do well” too.
- Winehouse and Fielder-Civil separated in July 2009, and Winehouse died from an accidental alcohol overdose two years later, aged 27.
- Held in the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, when Winehouse was aged just 23, the Times interview was shelved before it was even written up by journalist Ariel Leve.
- Also in the newly published interview, Winehouse spoke about the impulsive decision to marry Fielder-Civil in Miami, saying that she had a gut feeling that they were “going to die together”.
- It also came on the heels of her releasing her second album ‘ Back To Black ’ the year prior, which quickly became certified gold in the US and sold over a million copies in the UK.
- The interview was shelved, though, and the story never ran, until Oct. 10, when the Times resurfaced and published the lost chat in the wake of Winehouse’s tragic death in 2011 at age 27.
- During the interview, Winehouse opens up about being fearful of dying without ever making an impact, though she said she feels she accomplished just that with the success of Back to Black, which had come out the year prior and had just been certified gold in the U.S. The singer added that she was “really proud” of herself for making Back to Black.
- The bluntly beautiful 11-track masterpiece, with its jangling Sixties melodies, catapulted Amy Winehouse into the mainstream and elevated the 23-year-old to heights of the artists who’d inspired her: Prince began performing “Love Is a Losing Game” on stage.
- “Amy’s first album was a success, but she wasn’t a household name.“ One such borrowed dress, by Thai designer Disaya Sorakraikitikul, was worn in the eventual Back to Black cover shot – and auctioned for £43,200 (quadruple its estimated price) for charity in 2011.
- “I put my heart and soul into it.” Wander through Amy’s home borough of Camden on the record’s 20th anniversary and the singer is everywhere; remembered in smiling images taken for Back to Black, and her first album Frank, installed in an open-air exhibition above benches on Granary Square and King’s Boulevard.
- She also said that she was in awe of “his imagination” and was always convinced that she was going to “ruin stuff” because she saw herself as “quite thick”.