Mitch Winehouse helps open new exhibition about daughter Amy

Amy Winehouse‘s father Mitch helped to launch a new exhibition exploring the life, music and legacy of his daughter on Wednesday, a decade after her death aged 27.

The Design Museum’s Amy: Beyond the Stage tracks the story of her early career through her recordings and teenage notebooks to give an insight into her creativity.

It also pays tribute to her eclectic mix of influences, from Dinah Washington to DJ and record mogul Mark Ronson, 1960s pop, Motown and jazz.

The exhibition’s assistant curator Maria McLintock said Winehouse, who died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011, had left a rich and varied legacy in music and fashion.

‘What we’ve tried to do is tell her story as a creative person, as an incredible musician, as a fashion icon, but also include rare objects that maybe her fans have heard of but they haven’t seen before,’ she said.

Exhibits include hand-written lyrics from unreleased demos and the first guitar she bought as a teenager.

Amy, a distinctive figure with her beehive hairdo, multiple tattoos and smoky voice, shot to international fame with the 2006 album Back to Black.

The album – a 2007 best-seller in the UK – included the track Rehab, charting her battle with addiction.

McLintock said that as well as portraying Winehouse as a ‘very refined musician’, the decade since her death was also a way to assess her significance and influence.

In a sign of the sustained interest in her life and work, the dress she wore at her final performance sold for $243,200 (217,199 euros) at auction earlier this month – 16 times its estimated value.

‘Something that’s been really lovely to see is that there are many younger people who would not have grown up with Amy who are so excited to come to this exhibition,’ McLintock added.

‘So she’s clearly, continually inspiring younger artists.’

On Wednesday Mitch helped launch the show, which opens to the public on Friday.

Earlier this year Mitch revealed he wants his late daughter to be remembered for her successes, including the charity set up in her honour and the royalties which have helped out her family members.

Discussing his daughter’s legacy in an interview with The Sun, Mitch said his mission was to make sure people remember Amy for ‘her talent, her generosity and the love she showed us all’ and ‘not just her troubles with addiction.’

Since her untimely death, her parents, Mitch and mother Janis, set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation 2011 in their daughter’s memory.

The organisation, one element Mitch is keen for the singer to be remembered for, helps to educate young people about substance abuse and was founded off the back of Amy’s ‘love for children and challenges she faced’.

It also set up Amy’s Place, a refuge which can house up to 16 young women at a time while they learn how to adapt to real life and maintain recovery after being in a rehabilitation facility.

In addition, Amy’s songs are still regularly played and admired, pouring in royalties to this day.

Discussing the money Amy’s music still brings to her family, Mitch said: ‘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.’

Mitch’s words came as Amy’s family prepared to air their BBC Two documentary, Reclaiming Amy, for the 10 year anniversary of her death.