AMY WINEHOUSE’S devoted but at times exasperated dad had a ringside seat for her roller-coaster career.
His late daughter soared to superstardom from the jazz bars of London’s Soho and Camden to bagging six Grammy Awards.
She enjoyed all the trappings of fame but famously battled drink and drug demons before her early death, aged 27, on July 23, 2011.
Now, a decade on, it is Mitch’s mission to dispel the myths about Amy and ensure the focus is on her talent and generosity rather than her addictions.
As family and friends prepare to gather at North London’s Edgware-bury Cemetery this Friday to observe the tenth anniversary of Amy’s passing, ex-cabbie Mitch, 70, says: “There will be tears, without a doubt.
“Every year is difficult but of course ten years on brings attention — which I understand but it brings it all back too. It’s hard to avoid being upset. In many ways we will never get over it, however long passes.
“But shortly afterwards, we will head somewhere for a meal and our focus will be on the amazing things about Amy’s life — her talent, her generosity and the love she showed us all.
“That’s become my mission, to make sure people think of Amy for all she gave the world and those around her, not just for her troubles with addiction.
“Of course we remember the big career highs, the awards, but my favourite memories are the smaller, more personal moments we shared.
During our chat in central London, Mitch tells me: “The week she went to No1 all over the world, she asked me to come out for a drink with her in Soho — not far from where we are sitting now — and insisted it was just the two of us, no security.
“Along the way she stopped off in loads of places, as we walked through town saying hello to people she knew.
“I watched how wonderful she was, how down to earth, even though she suddenly had all this attention. But it was about the last time we were able to do that.
“Shortly afterwards things just got too hectic — and she did have problems after that.
Once, we met Nelson Mandela and everyone was on best behaviour except Amy who joked with him that he had a lot in common with her husband — because they’d both spent a lot of time in prison.
“A little while later she spent a month in the London clinic and asked me to go to Agent Provocateur, the sexy lingerie shop up the road, so that she had some underwear.
“She had sent me to collect some skimpy, red, babydoll-type thing and a matching dressing gown.
“I said to her: ‘You can’t wear that around here!’ But she laughed and put it on, and nobody thought anything of it because it was just Amy, who she was.
“Nothing ever changed her. Once, we met Nelson Mandela and everyone was on best behaviour except Amy who joked with him that he had a lot in common with her husband — because they’d both spent a lot of time in prison. Everyone laughed.”
Amy’s music continues to rake in millions in royalties, while a charity in her name has educated school-children about the dangers of substance abuse and set up a refuge for up to 16 women at a time to escape to from cycles of addiction and domestic abuse.
Mitch, who helps run the foundation, remains enormously proud of Amy’s legacy but there have been difficult times including criticism of the family for profiting from her career and some recent claims by her former best friend Tyler James in a memoir about their time together.
Undeterred, Mitch says: “Amy’s mum Janis and I manage her estate, and yes of course her music still makes a lot of money, what she did has set her whole family up. The thing is, though, and I can’t say this clearly enough, I would give back every penny just to have my daughter back.
“Ten years after her death, she is still looking after her loved ones — her family and many of her friends have been supported by her — and that’s typical of her. She was generous in life and in many ways she still is now.
“That’s why as soon as she died there had to be a charity in her name — it’s what she believed in and she would be so proud of what has been achieved with it, as we are of her.”
Her success landed a then record-breaking Grammys haul and Mitch reveals each of her closest relatives now has one at home — proving a reminder of her.
But Tyler’s memoir has left a bitter taste and renewed Mitch’s vigour in defending Amy’s legacy.
Many of her closest friends never received a penny, and I certainly didn’t get paid, but he definitely did at times
He says: “There were some very hurtful things in that book. We can’t understand why he would want to do that after so many years close to the family.
“He even said he was involved in choosing Amy’s coffin and clothing for the funeral, but in the Jewish faith everyone has a plain coffin and is wrapped in a prayer shroud — it just wasn’t true.
“He also said all of her friends and family were on the pay roll, that’s not the case either. Many of her closest friends never received a penny, and I certainly didn’t get paid, but he definitely did at times.
“She loaned him money which was never repaid, and after she died he had been living with her and we carried on paying his rent for well over a year. It was a lot of money.
“I can only say his version of events doesn’t match ours, and he wasn’t exactly in a clear frame of mind a lot of the time so I wonder whether he remembers anything at all.”
Amy was immortalised in 2016’s eponymous documentary film by director Asif Kapadia but Mitch says it focused a lot on negatives in her life and was unnecessarily critical of many of those around her, including him.
Now a new dramatized biopic is in the works, which the family will be allowed some advance access to — though Mitch insists they do not have overall script approval.
He says: “We want this film to be right, to focus on her talent and set a few things straight.
“I’m meeting with some of the production team later today to make a few points about the way Tyler is presented — as some sort of saint.
“But there are good friends of Amy who deserve to be highlighted for what they did for her.
“Either way, there’s huge appetite for a biopic — the success Amy’s music continues to have proves that and it’s important we do our best to make sure it is looked after.”
He adds of Amy’s legacy: “We get a final say on every song and commercial deal — the last thing we want is Amy’s music becoming the soundtrack to a cigarette advert somewhere.”
So could the biopic add to the story of Amy’s incredible but tragically short-lived life?
Mitch says: “There could be some more bits — early recordings, demos. I was listening to some bits recently, from before (2003 debut album) Frank, and some of it is incomplete so would all need to go to the restoration people to see if we can make something of it.
“But never say never. It’s certainly possible there will be more to hear from Amy yet.”
