There was an undeniable power in her voice, with a husky tone echoing the greats of a time gone by and tinged the regret regularly saved for has-beens sipping whiskey at a downtown bar. Following the success of her first album, 2003’s jazz and hip-hop-inflected Frank, Back to Black’s rebellious rock & roll spirit redefined popular music for future generations. The timeless power of Amy’s music is everlasting. It’s the 2000s, I’m huddled around a dilapidated wooden table with old friends, crushed into our regular booth and nursing a pint I was probably too young to buy for myself, singing along word-perfectly to ‘You Know I’m No Good’ or ‘ Tears Dry On Their Own’, asking a bemused barman if he’d let the whole album run.

It only takes a few bars, and suddenly I’m transported away from my desk and into the local pub that housed many of my adolescent Friday nights. The last decade has seen a revolutionary change in the music industry – streaming services became the dominant force, transforming how artists and fans engage with music social media created platforms for a new generation of independent artists, enabling marginalised musicians with better opportunities to connect with listeners finally, thanks to #MeToo, widespread allegations of abuse by powerful industry players have been exposed and conversations about sexism, harassment and the overall objectification of women in music have made their way into the cultural lexicon.Īnd yet, with Amy Winehouse’s seminal album Back to Black blasting from the speakers as I type, it’s as if no time has passed at all. Display navigation panel Fred Perry home page

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