'There was so much more to her than the drugs and the alcohol': Amy Winehouse's father Mitch reveals family are in talks to create West End musical depicting the talented singer's life story
Fans across the world were heartbroken when she was found dead in her London home at the age of 27 six years ago.
But now Amy Winehouse's life, her rare singing talent, her struggle with alcohol and drug dependency, and her untimely death from alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, are set to be documented in a new West End musical.
It has been revealed that her family, with whom she was extremely close, are in talks to create a musical documenting the tragic singer's life.
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Tribute: Amy Winehouse's life, her rare singing talent, her struggle with alcohol and drug dependency, and her untimely death from alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, are set to be documented in a new West End musical, her father has revealed
Speaking at the Amy Winehouse Foundation Gala in London last week, her father Mitch, who is in his late 60s, told the Sun: 'A musical celebrating her life and music is being talked about for the near future. It is something I'd really like to happen and I've said I'm happy for it to go ahead.
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'It would be for the West End. We want to do something that remembers Amy for what she was, there's so much more to her than just the drugs and the alcohol.'
He said the aim of the show would be to demonstrate how Amy created her music, focusing on her talent rather than on her struggle with drugs - which, he added, she had been clean from for three years before she died.
Rise and fall: It has been revealed that her family, with whom she was extremely close, are in talks to create a musical documenting the tragic singer's life
Amy rose to fame with her first album, Frank, in 2003, but it was the arrival of her second album, Back to Black, in 2006, which catapulted the shy singer into her status as an international phenomenon.
She won a then-record five Grammy's at the 2007 annual awards ceremony including Best Pop Vocal Album for Back to Black and Song of the Year for Rehab.
The actress who would be picked to play Amy would undoubtedly feel nervous before the opening night of any future musical about the singer.
But this might play in her favour, since the Back to Black songstress herself often battling with crippling nerves and stage fright.
Watch this space: Father Mitch, who is in his late 60s, said: 'A musical celebrating her life and music is being talked about for the near future.' Pictured: Amy at the start of her career in 2004 (left) and on her way to court (right) to faces charges of assaulting a fan
In the last interview she gave before her death, Amy opened up about the debilitating nerves she faced ahead of live performances.
Speaking to the Telegraph, she said: 'I'm not a natural born performer. I'm a natural singer, but I'm quite shy, really.
'You know what it's like? I don't mean to be sentimental or soppy but its a little bit like being in love, when you can't eat, you're restless, it's like that. But then the minute you go on stage, everything's OK. The minute you start singing.'
In the month before her body was found Amy was booed off the stage in Belgrade on the opening night of her 12-leg run of European performances, after she appeared to forget the lyrics.
Star performer: Mitch said the aim of the show would be to demonstrate how Amy created her music, focusing on her talent rather than on her struggle with drugs - which, he added, she had been clean from for three years before she died
She cancelled the rest of the tour, which many hailed as proof she was still recovering from her crack cocaine, heroin and alcohol addictions which caused her to take so much time out of the limelight in her twenties as she went in and out of rehab.
Other aspects the tour is likely to cover include Amy's messy two-year marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, which was fraught with substance abuse and violent rows.
Making it big: Amy rose to fame with her first album, Frank, in 2003, but it was the arrival of her second album, Back to Black, in 2006, which catapulted the shy singer into her status as an international phenomenon. Here she is pictured as a nominee at the Mercury awards in 2004
Shock: Fans across the world were heartbroken when she was found dead in her home in Camden, London (pictured at the time) at the age of 27 six years ago
The couple married in Florida in 2007 but they were divorced in September 2009.
In an interview in 2008, her mother Janis, now in her early 60s, said she would not be surprised if her daughter died before her time.
She said: 'I've known for a long time that my daughter has problems.
On-off: Other aspects the tour is likely to cover include Amy's messy two-year marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, which was fraught with substance abuse and violent rows
'But seeing it on screen rammed it home. I realise my daughter could be dead within the year. We're watching her kill herself, slowly.
'I've already come to terms with her dead. I've steeled myself to ask her what ground she wants to be buried in, which cemetery. Because the drugs will get her if she stays on this road.
'I look at Heath Ledger and Britney. She's on their path. It's like watching a car crash - this person throwing all these gifts away.'
Close: Amy was always supported by her loving parents, Mitch (left) and Janis (right). In an interview in 2008, Janis, now in her early 60s, said she would not be surprised if her daughter died before her time
Gone but not forgotten: Janis and Mitch unveil a wax figure of their daughter at Madame Tussauds in London
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