R.I.P Amy Winehouse

Amy Jade Winehouse 14th September 1983 ? 23rd July 2011

Today was the funeral of Amy Winehouse. Another tragic loss for someone so young & talented.

Her battles with substance abuse were the subject of much media attention. In various interviews, she admitted to having problems with self-harm, depression and eating disorders. She went through many periods of drinking, heavy drug use, violent mood swings and weight loss. Her family believes that the death of her grandmother, who was a stabilising influence, set her off into addiction. She had previously been hospitalised for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.

At 3:54 pm on 23 July 2011, two ambulances were called to Winehouse's home in Camden, London. Amy had been found by a member of her security team and was pronounced dead at the scene. Shortly afterwards, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that she had died. A post mortem was carried out on 25 July. The results were inconclusive and no cause of death could be established. An inquest was adjourned until 26 October, and results of further toxicology tests will take two to four weeks.

Crowds have been paying their respects and gathering outside Amy's house. I went down today and this is one of the many photographs I took of the shrine that has developed over the last few days. People were drinking, dancing and singing in the street to celebrate the short life of this talented and troubled singer.

May she rest in peace