Money from the collection will go to The Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up by Amy’s family to help disadvantaged children
October 31, 2022 10:43
There are very few famous people whose parents you seem to know as well as them. Such is the case with Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch, a former London cabbie who found himself swept up in the media circus surrounding the last years of his daughter’s life and her high-profile struggles with addiction.
In the years following Amy’s death, Mitch has used this public profile to help young people, particularly those who struggle as Amy did. “In 2009 I went to a Commons select committee where I was a witness regarding lack of funds for rehab or drug counselling — today it’s a hundred times worse,” Mitch explains. “We felt we wanted to do something in that field.
“We wanted to create a vehicle where former addicts could come and work with us, get paid and represent the foundation in schools, telling the kids about their own personal stories. I was also going in and speaking to parents. A lot have their head in the clouds that ‘this can’t happen to my kid’. It does.”
So much has been made of this time in Amy’s life, that people often overlook her cultural impact, in terms of her style as well as her music. Indeed her beauty look was so iconic that makeup brand Illamasqua recently released a collection inspired by the late singer’s retro-inspired makeup, with products designed to recreate her signature red lip and iconic black eyeliner, entitled “The Camden Collection” — after the district where the singer lived and has a statue in her memory.
A percentage of profits from the collection will go to The Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up by Mitch and the rest of Amy’s family to help disadvantaged children and young people build their self-esteem and feel empowered, particularly those at risk of or dealing with addiction.
The charity is also a reflection of Amy’s generosity, something Mitch says was often overlooked while she was alive. “Amy was always helping people out — once she even took in a homeless person. She said ‘Dad, I’m looking after this girl, she’s going to sleep on the sofa.’ Apart from being a great daughter and fantastic artist she was a wonderful human being.”
The charity is also focused on helping young female addicts in particular with the creation of Amy’s Place, the only female recovery house in the UK.
“If you think about why or how women find themselves in addiction, 85 per cent of them are there because some guy screwed them up,” Mitch says. “If the male partner is an addict, the female is of no value to them if they’re not addicted as well. They want a drug buddy.”
Helping others in his daughter’s situation is just one of the ways Mitch hopes to keep Amy’s legacy alive. Last year he and Amy’s mum Janis made the BBC documentary Reclaiming Amy.
They are also working with the creatives behind an up-coming biopic and a Broadway show.
The documentary showed how Amy’s extended Jewish family played a huge part in her childhood.
“My mum Cynthia and Amy had a wonderful relationship,” Mitch reflects fondly. “Because Janis and I were working a lot of the time, my mum and her sister looked after the kids and that mirrored the sort of upbringing I had growing up in the East End.
“In our house I was always surrounded by my little cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. Very Jewish and very East End.”
Did he have a traditional upbringing? “Not strictly. We were Jewish, as long as it meant you didn’t have to go to shul! They tried to make me go to synagogue I said no, no, no!” he chuckles.
Did Judaism help you coming to terms with Amy’s death?
“It did, but my faith is more than just the Jewish religion.
“I’m a firm believer in life after death and that helped me a great deal, as well as my Jewish faith.
“Sitting shiva for Amy was very cathartic.”
What advice would he give to parents in a situation similar to his?
“We’re really not in a position to give any advice, apart from to support your child and let them know you love them. Most addicts come out the other side somehow, with support from their family, but they’ve got to do it themselves.”
The Illamasqua X Amy Winehouse Camden Collection is available now. Learn more about the Amy Winehouse Foundation at amywinehousefoundation.org