“I’m not a natural born performer. I’m a natural singer, but I’m quite shy, really,” – Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse died five years ago in July aged 27. The singer was found dead in her home in Camden Town, north London, her sudden death the result of alcohol poisoning.

Today marks what would have been her 33rd birthday…

Winehouse’s life was punctuated by controversy and drug abuse that ensured she was never far from the tabloids. But by 27, the multi-Grammy award-winner had become one of Britain’s most talented exports, selling five million records globally. Lioness: Hidden Treasures, the album of songs compiled posthumously, only served as further evidence of the deep loss faced by the music industry in her passing.

Her final interview was with The Telegraph during a recording session with her idol, Tony Bennett.

Amid relapses, relationship breakdowns and being hounded by the paparazzi, Winehouse had one enduring passion: singing, a passion that survived even in the face of crippling nerves.

“I’m not a natural born performer. I’m a natural singer, but I’m quite shy, really,” she said. 

“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.”

While Winehouse was overwhelmed throughout her recording session at being in the same studio as Bennett, she clearly made an impression on the crooner too. He joined musicians across the world who paid tribute to the singer after her death: “She was an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist.”