Jo Whiley remembers Amy Winehouse and 20 years of Back to Black: 'We're only now truly appreciating her legacy'

I first saw Amy Winehouse perform at a tiny jazz club in Brighton. She was mesmerising – I couldn’t take my eyes off her, with her distinctive voice, swagger and jazz roots. Her love for the genre was clear to see.

Later, Amy recorded her second album Back to Black. A story of obsession and heartbreak, it was a masterpiece. That’s why we’re marking the 20th anniversary of its release with an afternoon and evening on the BBC, celebrating Amy’s legacy.

Amy Winehouse was one of the all-time greats. She won awards and enjoyed commercial and critical success but her talent, during her short life, was overshadowed by her chaotic personal life. With the passing of time we are now truly beginning to appreciate her legacy.

Amy deserves to be celebrated as a music icon. She was a wordsmith, articulating her torment with affecting rawness. Back to Black documents the intensity of her love for Blake Fielder-Civil and her pain when their relationship went wrong and was like nothing we’d heard before.

Today it still sounds fresh. Every one of the five singles on that album has merit. It’s a classic and we’ll still be listening to it in 50 years. When it came out in 2006, and I was hosting the Radio 1 Live Lounge, there were brilliant artists but no one was doing it the way Amy was – clever lyrics and raw emotion.

Her tumultuous personaL life aside, Amy’s attitude to her music made her an extraordinary female icon. Never a people pleaser, she sent a powerful message to women to be themselves. Her music, attitude and image said follow your own arrow, make the music you want to make.

Before she died so tragically young, aged 27 in 2011, there was much distraction from her music. She had many troubles and with the way the tabloids and paparazzi operated at the time, there was an awful feeding frenzy. It was horrible seeing Amy chased everywhere. Having watched her around the time of her first album Frank, when she was healthy and had a beautiful air and confidence – her downfall was painful to witness.

I remember Amy’s generous heart – she graciously did a charity concert for me, for Mencap, performing from the goodness of her heart and it was a very special night. She was happy, she was funny and I treasure that memory. We met several times and it was evident that she loved performing on stage and being in the studio more than she enjoyed being interviewed.

Amy wasn’t interested in fame, so when the whole package of being a star enveloped her, I think that was in part what destroyed her. She developed a protective shell to mask her vulnerability, her desire to be loved and to make people happy. All of this clouded the perception of Amy.

Underneath it all was an immensely talented woman who wanted to write songs and sing them to people who appreciated her. Our show will reflect this and will be a joyous celebration of Amy and her music, which meant more to her than anything.

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Amy Winehouse: Back to Black at 20 – our broadcast of a concert led by original album producers, including Mark Ronson, and featuring The Amy Winehouse Band and special guests, will air on my Radio 2 show and BBC Two. A dedicated iPlayer channel will stream some of her most memorable performances captured by the BBC over the years.

When it came to her craft, Amy had a belief in her music, but I don’t think she was aware of exactly how important it was. Most of us didn’t realise just how seminal it was. One wonders what she would be doing now, what her next album would have been like. But she left us this tiny catalogue – two albums – that we should treasure. Amy’s music is her gift to us all.

Amy Winehouse: Back to Black at 20 is on Saturday at 8.35pm on BBC Two.

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