Amy Winehouse could have a road in north London named after her as a tribute.
Residents in Kings Cross, London, have been asked to submit proposals to name a new street in an area which is being redeveloped for a new housing and is close to Winehouse’s former home of Camden. Although other names nominated for the road include tributes to Great Expectations author Charles Dickens and Frankenstein writer Mary Shelley, fans of Winehouse’s have submitted the name ‘Winehouse Street’ for consideration.
Winehouse’s father Mitch said he supported the plan, stating: “To think that our surname would be indelibly linked with London through the naming of a street after Amy is remarkable. We’re a London family through and through and it would be a tremendous honour if we do become a literal part of the fabric of this great city.”
But in all honesty, wouldn’t it be sending out the wrong message if a street were to be named after her? I’m not questioning her amazing talent, but…she was a girl who was a junkie. Is she really a hero? I thought we stopped revering stupid musicians with a drug habit that they can’t control.
How can you compare her to writers like Charles Dickens and Mary Shelley, whose art has stood the test of time. Will Amy Winehouse be talked about in 100 years? I hope she is, for the right things. But to name her after a street at this moment in time is madness. Even you, Mitch, must admit that her art needs to to stand the test of time for more than a year.
Last month, work-in-progress of the Amy Winehouse statue set to be erected in Camden were revealed. The planned sculpture is being designed by artist Scott Eaton and will be revealed in 2014, while the singer is also set to be honoured when Camden’s new Walk of Fame opens later this year.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, it was revealed that Winehouse will be the subject of a new documentary from the director of Senna, which pieced together the story of Formula One driver Ayrton Senna’s life before he was tragically killed in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. James Gay-Rees, producer of the Banksy documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop, is also attached the Amy Winehouse film with Focus Features International expected to shop the film to studios at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
by Milo Johnson
