LONDON – The family of Amy Winehouse gathered at a north London cemetery yesterday to bid farewell to their “angel”, three days after the troubled singer was found dead at her home.
Some 100 mourners, including Winehouse’s producer Mark Ronson and Kelly Osbourne, attended the traditional Jewish funeral. It closed with her father, Mitch, saying: “Good night my angel, sleep tight; Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much.”
A family spokesman said Carole King's So Far Awaywas played at the end of the service. King's You've Got a Friendwas the first song Amy Winehouse and her father had sung together.
In a eulogy at the private service, Mitch Winehouse said his daughter had been happier in recent months than she had been for years and was looking forward to a future with her boyfriend of the past two years, film director Reg Traviss.
Earlier, Traviss (35) had denied rumours the singer died, at the age of 27, in a drug-fuelled haze.
"She had been full of life and so upbeat recently, exercising every day and doing yoga," he told the Sunnewspaper. "This terrible thing that happened is like an accident."
An inquest opened on Monday and was adjourned until October, with police describing the death as unexplained and a postmortem failing to determine the cause of death.
More medical tests are being carried out, with the results expected next month.
Winehouse’s talent was eclipsed over recent years by her battles with drugs and alcohol, while her last stage appearances had been derided as shambolic.
Meanwhile record industry body the Official Charts Company said her music is expected to dominate the British charts by the end of the week.
Winehouse is on course to have seven singles in the Top 40 and 14 in the Top 200, with the biggest selling track currently Back To Blackfollowed by Rehab, Tears Dry On Their Own, You Know I'm No Goodand Valerie.
The Daily Telegraphreported this week that material recorded before Winehouse's death could be released as a posthumous album. It cited sources who said Winehouse had recorded "a lot of material" and that her parents would have the final say on a new album.
Winehouse’s spokesman told Reuters there was no news about the release of a third album. – (Reuters)