Amy Winehouse’s mother Janis has led tributes to the singer on the 15th anniversary of her death, reflecting that her daughter was “a victim of her own success”.
Today (July 23) marks 15 years since Winehouse was found dead at her home in Camden, North London, aged 27. Her death was later ruled to have been caused by accidental alcohol poisoning.
In an interview with The i, Janis has reflected on the scale of the fame her daughter faced in her life. “She was a victim of her own success,” she said. “She didn’t want it, but it just followed her. And she’d be like, ‘Who, me?’”
Janis also speculated about why she believes Amy was susceptible to addiction. “She didn’t have confidence. Hence the alcohol,” she explained. “I think it’s the same with many, many addicts with alcohol. The alcohol takes away the pain. And that is a horrible thing with addiction.”
“Once you’re addicted, you’re addicted,” she continued. “The only boss is the addiction. People say, ‘Oh, no, you just stop doing such and such’. They don’t get it. You can’t stop because your body is saying I need it.”
Addressing her ongoing grief, Janis said: “I’m just getting on with it because that’s what I do. I get on with life. I live it.”
The Winehouse family were involved in a tribute event in Camden Market on Sunday (July 19), a free concert that celebrated both her life and the Amy Winehouse Foundation’s work supporting young women who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction over the last 15 years.
In 2020, Winehouse was honoured with a dedicated stone on Camden’s Music Walk Of Fame. Watch NME’s report from the unveiling below.
The official account of Winehouse’s late collaborator Tony Bennett also shared a clip of their duet ‘Body And Soul’ today, writing: “Remembering Amy Winehouse, who we lost 15 years ago today,” alongside Bennett’s earlier assessment: “She was as great as Ella or Billie.”
Earlier this year, Pete Doherty told NME that he believed the 2024 biopic Back To Black had been treated unfairly by critics, praising Marisa Abela’s performance and saying the film captured Winehouse and Blake Fielder-Civil’s “them against the world” relationship.
“I think Amy would have liked it,” he said. “It was basically a love story, wasn’t it? It wasn’t so much about her dad, and everyone goes on and on about her dad. It was about her and Blake and when they fell in love.”
Earlier this month, The Rolling Stones also reflected on their friendship with Winehouse ahead of releasing a cover of ‘You Know I’m No Good’ on their latest album, ‘Foreign Tongues’.
Ronnie Wood recalled trying to help the singer during her struggles with alcohol. “She would go, ‘Oh Ronnie, what am I going to do?’” he said. “I said, ‘Look, everyone knows you’ve got vodka in the water bottle. Get it together and get on stage.’”
Beautiful tributes left for Amy by fans on the 15th anniversary of her death today at her home in Camden Square. 🖤✨#AmyWinehouse #AmyForever pic.twitter.com/63haR3bj0Z
— Amy Winehouse UK (@amywinehouse_uk) July 23, 2026
“But if you could get her up there and she stayed there, it’d be great,” he added. “I’m sad because she didn’t do her full span. It was like saying goodbye to Billie Holiday again.”
Winehouse joined the Stones at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 2007 to perform The Temptations’ ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg’. Keith Richards expressed regret that he never had the opportunity to know her better.
“I was always sort of, ‘Well, I’m bound to meet her down the road,’” he said. “You expect things to happen, and unfortunately no. But that’s what records are for. I’m just very glad and honoured to have played with her at least once.”
