Amy

Garry Mulholland

Garry was the first journalist to interview and publish a profile of the promising, soul-jazz-influenced singer songwriter in a national newspaper in January 2004. He remembers her as funny, warm, charming and brutally, brilliantly, honest. Despite being relatively unknown at the time, she still commanded attention wherever she went: she was charismatic and unique. She wasn't deliberately setting out to attract attention: he describes her face as having that 'somewhat glazed, distracted expression she would often adopt when performing live, as if she had left the gas on and had left her voice to its own devices while she tries to recall for sure.'

Six and half year later, a few hundred metres from the café where Garry interviewed Amy for the first time, Amy was found dead. The inquest concluded it was death by misadventure - three bottles of vodka was too much for a body ravaged by alcohol, cocaine, ketamine, heroine, emphysyma, anorexia and bulimia.

This book is three things: a biography of a famous pop star; a real life modern tragedy and a detective story. We know where and how Amy Winehouse died and we know what killed her - but we don't know why. Why does someone who has everything - talent, integrity, family, friends, looks, charisma, money - commit a slow and inexorable suicide.

Garry is a brilliant, vivid writer who really wants to carry out a forensic search for answers. He will interview family, friends Lily Allen, Peter Doherty, her boyfriend at the time of her death, and her management. He is connected and trusted (Garry is good mates with Amy's career long press officer).

No one wilfully gives up on their life at the age of 27 without one hell of a powerful reason. At the end of this book, her millions of fans are going to know exactly what that reason is