Amy Winehouse – The Oxegen Festival

After the release of Frank, Amy Winehouse’s debut, jazz-influenced album, her focus shifted to the girl groups of the 1950s and ‘60s. Winehouse hired New York singer Sharon Jones’s longtime band, the Dap-Kings, to back her up in the studio and on tour. In May 2006, Winehouse’s demo tracks such as ‘You Know I’m No Good’ and ‘Rehab’ appeared on Mark Ronson’s New York show on East Village Radio. These were some of the first new songs played on the radio after the release of ‘Pumps’, and both were slated to appear on her second album. The 11-track LP, completed in five months, was produced entirely by Salaam Remi and Ronson, with the production credits being split between them.

 

Promotion of Back to Black soon began and the album was released in the UK on 30 October 2006. It went to number one on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks in January 2007. On 10 February ‘08, Winehouse received five Grammy Awards, Additionally, Back to Black was nominated for Album of the Year. Ronson’s work with her won the Grammy for Producer of the Year, in the non-classical category.

 

On 7 April, Back to Black was in the top position of the pan-European charts for the sixth consecutive and thirteenth aggregate week. Amy Winehouse – The Girl Done Good: A Documentary Review, a 78-minute DVD, was released on 14 April 2008. The documentary features interviews with those who knew her at a young age, people who helped her achieve success, jazz music experts, and music and pop culture specialists.

 

Winehouse performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday Party concert at London’s Hyde Park on 27 June 2008, and the next day at the Glastonbury Festival. –  On July 12th, Amy appeared at the Oxegen Festival in Ireland, where she delivered a well-received, 50-minute set. Her performance became known as perhaps her best show of the BTB Tour so far, and the entire event was record for live broadcast by Radio 2, and transmitted across the UK simultaneously.

 

Playing a set that included eight of the new album’s 11 tracks, plus a version of Valerie, Sam Cooke’s Cupid, and two number from the Specials – Roddy Byers’ ‘Poor Little Rich Girl’ and Coxsone Dodd’s ‘You’re Wondering Now’ (in a version taken from the first Specials album), the concert was superb and remains a fan favourite to this day.

 

Bonus cuts here come from Amy’s superb 2004 performance at the Summer Sundae Festival in Leicestershire, a year or so after the release of the girl’s debut, Frank.

 

1 – Tears Dry On Their Own – 3:57

2 – Cupid – 3:37

3 – Back To Black – 4:23

4 – Wake Up Alone – 4:17

5 – Some Unholy War – 4:30

6 – Love Is A Losing Game – 2:43

7 – Hey, Little Rich Girl – 4:02

8 – You’re Wondering Now – 2:49

9 – You Know I’m No Good – 4:07

10 – Rehab – 3:51

11 – Me And Mr. Jones – 3:11

12 – Valerie – 4:09

13 – Best Friends, Right? – 3:02

14 – Take The Box – 4:39

15 – Mr. Magic – 4:00

16 – Stronger Than Me – 4:46

17 – Brother – 4:58

18 – In My Bed – 4:43

19 – You Sent Me Flying – 7:04

20 – Summer Sundae Interview 2004 – 3:43