Posted January 28, 200817 yr AMY Winehouse's tortured genius was eloquently revealed late last year. At news she had been nominated for six Grammys, the high point in the music industry, sad Amy looked at her friends, and with a gentle, all-too-honest humour, she said: "I'd rather have six grams." Exhibiting the denial that perhaps drives his sister, Winehouse's brother, Alex, blames it on creative force. "If you look through history, that's the way it is for artists," he said on British TV. "For many artists to achieve great works of art, they have to struggle. They're free spirits and you have to respect that, otherwise it would be a very dull world to live in." But the world got a look at the down side of that philosophy, the tortured drug addict, when British tabloid The Sun revealed hidden camera footage of Winehouse sucking in crack fumes from a glass pipe in the midst of a drug binge. Now, at last, she has gone into rehab and her fans hope she gets the care she so obviously needs. Winehouse was the woman who had impressed Elton John during her concert last May, the pop great entranced by her soulful voice. "Amy is an incredible performer," John said. "That was one of the most exciting and greatest shows I've seen in many years." But here, instead, was a bleached blonde crack addict in a stoned haze, her home a cesspit of dirt. It is widely considered Winehouse's descent into her drug hell was influenced by her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. Winehouse's mother, Janis, said: "I think he introduced her to them and now she thinks, 'Oh, this is good, this is OK'. She's still a child and I think it has overtaken her a bit. Thank God he's gone inside." Fielder-Civil is in jail awaiting trial for assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice after a pub brawl in 2006. At one point police also considered charging Winehouse before declaring there was insufficient evidence. "Blake and Amy are like two separate accidents waiting to happen," said Blake's mother, Georgette Civil. " Their meeting simply exacerbated everything that was wrong in their lives to the verge of tragedy." In a bid to reverse the decline, Fielder-Civil's father, Giles, reported to police one of the couple's entourage for supplying them with cocaine last year. "Drink, drugs and a history of self-harm is a worrying cocktail," he said. "I'm going to point out the Sid and Nancy comparison to Blake." That was a reference to Sid Vicious, who murdered girlfriend Nancy Spungen in 1979 before later dying of a drug overdose. The couple's troubles began last August when Winehouse went on a bender of heroin, ecstasy, ketamine and alcohol, her husband alongside her. They were persuaded to check into the exclusive rehab clinic, the Causeway Centre and the treatment was expected to last six to eight weeks, but they checked out and headed to a pub. On August 16 last year they went in to rehab again, but lasted only three days. "My son didn't want to come out," Fielder said. "But if Amy's insistent, he wants to support her." Days after their second rehab stint, they were photographed walking through London's West End, the graphic horror of their lives all too apparent. Fielder-Civil had scratches on his face. Winehouse was sporting bruises, her trademark black make-up smudged across her face. Blood had seeped through the fabric of her ballet shoes, revealing where she had shot up between her toes. By December Amy's drug woes had accelerated so much her teeth were falling out. A concert photo showing her in full voice also revealed she was almost toothless. At another concert, the crowd turned on her. Amy was drawn into a slanging match and walked off. The tour was cancelled. About that time, her father, Mitch, admitted she had begun dabbling in drugs as early as 13. As if to emphasise her desperation, during an interview in the US after she met Fielder-Civil, she carved his name into her stomach with a shard of mirror. Heraldsun AU
