Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black 20th Anniversary Celebrated with Concert
A commemorative concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s GRAMMY-winning album Back to Black took place at the Roundhouse in Camden.
Curating the Camden Tribute
The October event brought together a roster of musicians and producers linked to the late singer’s catalog. Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi, long-time musical producer Dale Davis, producers Paul Duffy and p*nut, and Darcus Beese curated the show. The Amy Winehouse Band backed the live performances of the 2006 record in full.
Special guests joined the stage for individual tracks. Corinne Bailey Rae performed “Back To Black” with Mark Ronson, Sasha Keable sang “Just Friends” with Salaam Remi, and Nia Smith delivered “Tears Dry On Their Own” with Salaam Remi. Skye Newman tackled “Addicted,” Yebba performed “Love Is A Losing Game” with Mark Ronson, and Terri Walker sang “Me & Mr Jones” with Salaam Remi.
The setlist continued with Lianne La Havas singing “You Know I’m No Good” alongside Mark Ronson, Baby Rose performing “Wake Up Alone” with Paul O’Duffy, and Jorja Smith tackling “Some Unholy War” with Salaam Remi. FLO performed “He Can Only Hold Her” with p*nut, and Jessie Reyez closed out the individual guest spots with “Rehab” alongside Mark Ronson. All contributing artists returned to the stage at the conclusion of the night for a joint rendition of “Valerie,” a track by The Zutons that Winehouse famously covered.
Reflecting on the milestone, Mark Ronson noted the enduring legacy of the project. “It’s crazy that six songs made in a fit of furious musical infatuation would matter so deeply to so many people twenty years later,” Ronson said. Salaam Remi added, “Amy was one of one. One-of-a-kind artist. One-of-a-kind spirit. One-of-a-kind soul. Experiencing that level of talent, passion, humour, honesty, and love for what she created was a gift.”
BBC Broadcasts and Deluxe Record Releases Mark Anniversary
The anniversary programming extended beyond the live stage in Camden. A series of special deluxe expanded formats of the record was released on October 23 via UMR/Island. Since its original release on October 27, 2006, Back to Black has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and earned five GRAMMY Awards.
Media broadcasts of the anniversary concert reached audiences across television and radio platforms. BBC Two and BBC iPlayer aired the gig, while BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds broadcast the audio.
The FADER Hosts Exhibition of Unpublished Winehouse Photos
Commemorations also touched on the artist’s early media coverage. In March 2007, Winehouse appeared in Issue #44 of the long-running GEN F series. To mark the two-decade milestone, The FADER teamed up with Universal Music Enterprises, Non, Estrella Galicia, and Brother to host a one-night-only photo exhibition showcasing unpublished outtakes from that shoot by photographer Liz Johnson Artur.
The original 2007 interview was conducted by Nick Barat, known as Nick Catchdubs, co-founder of Fool’s Gold Records, who also spearheaded The FADER’s transition to digital publishing. The anniversary exhibition featured DJ sets from Hajin Yoo and DJ Miss Ma’am, with Nick Catchdubs closing out the evening.
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