Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black goes from record to film

The organization is nothing official but pop music fans are very much aware of its kind of existence. This is the 27 Club and it is made up of music artists, mostly rockers who passed away at the young age of 27.

Their dying at the same age, is probably all coincidental but given the star-studded membership, how they died and the memorable music they created, the 27 Club has become something that cannot be ignored.

The 27 Club is once more being talked about because Back to Black, the acclaimed album by Amy Winehouse is now the title of a biopic of the tragic star, which is opening locally at Ayala Mall Cinemas on May 15.

Winehouse became a 27 Club member on July 23, 2011 in her London flat. She died from alcohol poisoning, although it was also probable that her history of substance abuse, drug addiction, mental illness and maybe even a broken heart contributed to her demise.

Winehouse was one of the most exciting and most talented artists ever to emerge from the UK.  She had a voice oozing with heartache and was also an excellent songwriter. She was also a head-turner who had been likened to the ‘60s sex kitten Brigitte Bardot what with her lean, petite figure and teased beehive hairdo.

Winehouse was clearly made for stardom and to use a cliché, her rise to the top was meteoric.  To this day, it is generally believed that Winehouse’ success was responsible for the popularity of British soul and R&B during the 2000s era as well as having provided the inspiration for the likes of Brit stars Adele and Sam Smith.

Released in 2006, Back to Black was Winehouse’s second and final album. She worked on it while trying to cope with her traumatic relationship with her husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Hence the cuts have titles like Rehab, You Know I Am No Good, Tears Dry on Their Own, Love is a Losing Game, and Back to Black.

The songs talk of heartbreak so acute there was no way the listener could not feel her pain. Back to Black was one of the biggest selling albums of the year. It gave Winehouse the Record of the Year, the Song of the Year, Pop Vocal Album and Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Awards in 2008. It was also nominated for Album of the Year. Then three years later she was gone.

Given how popular music biopics have become nowadays, we have had the stories of Freddy Mercury, Elton John, Bob Marley and others recreated for the big screen, there was no way anybody would pass up a chance to do one on Winehouse. Not only is her music great, her unfortunately short life was also full of drama. And so here it is, “Back to Black,” the movie. It is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson who also did the famous “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

“Back to Black” stars Jack O’Connell as Fielder-Civil and Eddie Marsan as Mitch Winehouse.  Playing the lead is English actress Marisa Abella, who not only resembles Winehouse but also incredibly sounds like Winehouse and does her own singing in the film.

I am sure “Back to Black” will be great entertainment and will also provide some insight into what can help ease the troubled life of young, talented artists like Amy Winehouse.

By the way, some of the other famous members of the 27 Club are Jim Morrison of The Doors, July 3, 1971 of heart failure caused by heroin addiction; Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, July 3, 1969, drowning caused by ingestion of drugs and alcohol; Janis Joplin, Oct. 4, 1970 of heroin overdose; Jimi Hendrix, Sept. 18, 1970 of asphyxia from an overdose of sleeping pills; and Kurt Cobain, April 5, 1994 of suicide.