Private funeral to be held for Winehouse on Tuesday

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1 of 20. Mitch and Janis Winehouse (C), the parents of British singer Amy Winehouse, look at memorabilia left by fans outside her house in London July 25, 2011.

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LONDON | Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:50pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Amy Winehouse's funeral will take place on Tuesday and will be attended only by her family and close friends, her spokesman said on Monday.

A post mortem on the "Back to Black" singer, who died at the weekend, failed to determine how she died and more toxicology tests are being carried out, with the results expected in two to four weeks, police said.

The autopsy was carried out after an inquest opened and adjourned on the 27-year-old's death which police are so far describing as "unexplained."

Winehouse, who fought drug and alcohol addictions, was found dead at her north London home on Saturday afternoon.

As sales of her music soared and speculation swirled about the release of a possible posthumous album, her father Mitch flew in from New York and visited a shrine of flowers, gifts and cards outside the house.

Surrounded by television crews and well-wishers, he read the dozens of condolence messages and walked along banks of teddy bears, flowers -- and the occasional bottle of vodka -- left by fans of the troubled singer.

"Thank you for coming," he said. "It means so much to me and my family."

A somber mood hung over Camden Square, where Winehouse lived, as a constant stream of fans arrived to lay flowers and leave messages for the singer among flickering candles left outside her house on Monday.

Some well-wishers were unable to hold back tears as they looked in near silence at fans' tributes.

Messages for the singer were left both by locals, including one saying she is "going to be thoroughly missed in Camden," and by fans from as far afield as Colombia, Mexico, Italy and Spain.

Winehouse's battle with alcohol and drugs was well-documented, most famously in one of her best-known songs "Rehab," in which she sang, "They tried to make me go to rehab but I said no, no, no."

She slid from being a chirpy teenage singer from a north London Jewish family to someone who could barely walk at her final concert performance in Belgrade, Serbia.

She won critical acclaim after the release of her debut album "Frank" in 2003 before becoming a worldwide phenomenon with the success of Back to Black.

Her death has sparked a surge in demand for her music.

British music retailer HMV predicted on Monday that she would be No. 1 next week as sales of Back to Black, which won five Grammys, continue to grow.

The company said many people had downloaded the album online but many would want to buy CDs to feel a "more tangible and closer connection with Amy."

"It's something that we tend to see when any great music legend or rock star passes," said HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday that material recorded before Winehouse's death could be released as a posthumous album, citing sources who said Winehouse had recorded "a lot of material" and that her parents would have the final say on whether a new album is to be released.

Winehouse's spokesman told Reuters there was currently no confirmation of the release of a third album. "I know there's material about, but no one's talked about it," he said.

Her recording company, Island Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group had no comment about the possibility of a posthumous album.

The inquest will resume in October.

(Reporting by Clare Kane Additional reporting by Brenda Goh)

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Comments (9)
redmerlot wrote:
Oh PLEASE give it a rest. These people are not heroes or “poor souls” who should be idolized. They are addicted losers who are horrible role models for music, youth, and rock n roll.

This comment really irks me:
” The thing that links them together is the fact that all of them have been pop cultural shifters, all of them have helped push the sound of modern music to new levels, and some of them have pushed it on a very large scale, be it Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones,” said Eric Segalstad, …”

Bull. The thing that links them together is that they were weird, wild, partiers with no regard for social rules or self discipline.
As for pushing the sound of modern music… what about The Beatles? What about Bob Dylan, Pete Townsend, or for that matter, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong?
There is a VERY long list of people who were brilliant entertainers, who pushed the sound of modern music, and didn’t end up destroying themselves with drugs and alcohol. To in any way link the two ideas is nonsense.

Jul 25, 2011 1:11am EDT  --  Report as abuse
only1passion wrote:
Well redmerlot what is it like being a self righteous narrow minded hateful person? So many of these amazing artists are also tortured and they have to dig deep to share their soul.. you are lucky to have her her voice and witnessed her ability to think and be outside the box! But that’s OK you keep living your tidy and boring little life. Its safe inside that box :)

Jul 25, 2011 1:35am EDT  --  Report as abuse
EsteRae wrote:
I feel bad for her family. But all that joins the “27 club” is that they were musicians who destroyed themselves via a weakness. It’s not a strength that they died, and it doesn’t mean their music was particularly great. A lot of other musicians don’t die at the age of 27 or through destroying themselves. So let’s cut the crap about the phony “club” because it’ll probably just encourage copycats. Even Winehouse had mentioned it. Maybe it encouraged her to be more reckless, which would be really sad, wouldn’t it. Maybe people should just stop talking about it entirely.

Jul 25, 2011 1:57am EDT  --  Report as abuse
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