Curated by her close friend and stylist, Naomi Parry, Amy Winehouse: Beyond Black is an affectionate and evocative visual celebration of the life and career of the music star, including photographs, memorabilia, and the recollections of those whose lives she touched.
Amy Winehouse left an indelible mark on both the music industry and pop culture with her soulful voice and bold ’60s-inspired aesthetic. Featuring stories and anecdotes from a wide range of characters connected to Amy, specially commissioned photography of memorabilia, styled and dressed themed sets incorporating Amy’s clothing, possessions, and lyrics, and previously unseen archival images, this volume presents an intimate portrait that celebrates Amy’s creative legacy.
Interspersed throughout are personal reflections on Amy’s life and work, provided by her friends, colleagues, and fans. These include Ronnie Spector, Vivienne Westwood, Bryan Adams, Little Simz, and Carl Barât, as well as Doug Hawley Landlord of the Hawley Arms, tattooist Henry Hate, goddaughter Dionne Bromfield, and DJ Bioux. Each one has a personal story to share, and together their anecdotes and reflections build into a complex picture of a much admired but troubled star. Vice Culture Editor Emma Garland puts these insights into context with an introduction that highlights the principal events and achievements in Amy’s life and work, and the key characters that played a part in it.
Organized broadly chronologically, the book features lyric sheets, sketches, and ephemera, together with contextual photographs and video stills, including album, single, and promotional artworks and outtakes. Punctuating the story are photographs of dressed room sets each created, designed, and styled especially for the book by Naomi Parry to evoke a period or aspect of Amy’s life or personality, incorporating Amy’s clothing, possessions, lyrics, and other memorabilia.
