Posted on 11/15/2007 11:11:23 AM PST by 300magnum
LONDON (AFP) - Troubled soul singer Amy Winehouse kicked off her 17-date tour with a shambolic performance that saw fuming fans booing and marching out, reports said Thursday.
The concert at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, was a chance for the 24-year-old to get back to singing and put her woes behind her.
Winehouse has had "health issues" -- widely reported to be drug and alcohol abuse -- and her party-loving husband Blake Fielder-Civil is being held on grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice charges.
But Wednesday's gig at the NIA, which can hold up to 13,000 people, was slammed by angry fans as a "disgrace" after she turned up late and stumbled about the stage.
When punters started jeering, Winehouse snapped: "Let me tell you something. First of all, if you're booing, you're a mug for buying a ticket.
"Second, to all those booing, just wait till my husband gets out of incarceration -- and I mean that."
The Birmingham Mail newspaper's music critic Andy Coleman said it was "one of the saddest nights of my life".
"I saw a supremely talented artist reduced to tears, stumbling around the stage and, unforgivably, swearing at the audience," he wrote.
James Dyas demanded his money back, according to London's Evening Standard newspaper.
"She came on stage half an hour late. She managed four songs but was slurring her words and swaying all over the place," he said.
"She fell into the guitar stand and dropped the microphone -- it was atrocious. The song dedicated to her husband was so bad it was like swinging a cat round your head."
An, from Birmingham, commented on The Times newspaper's website: "Her singing was awful, out of tune and slurred. She sang for around 50 minutes -- drinking throughout.
"I have never seen so many people leave a show. 'Valerie' was my favourite song -- she massacred it!"
Pete Massera, from north-west England, added: "It was an absolutely atrocious gig. I, like many others in the audience, got our coats and left before she even finished the set."
Gary Atwell, from nearby Rugby, said "streams" of fans walked out, according to the BBC website.
"I went out for a sneaky cigarette half way through and at least 40 people left, just in that five minutes," he said.
"Valerie", the closing number, descended into chaos when Winehouse stopped singing, dropped the microphone and walked off stage.
Winehouse, named best British female solo artist at the Brit Awards in February, has rarely been out of the newspapers in recent months due to her lifestyle issues.
Wow. Quite bootylicious beforehand. If that picture isn’t a great advertisement for staying off drugs, I don’t know what is!
}:-)4
Hey Amy - go to rehab.
"Second, to all those booing, just wait till my husband gets out of incarceration -- and I mean that."
"And for my next song, I'll sing - "My husband's back and you're gonna be in trouble."
"Hey la hey la, my husband's back."
Kind of like the situation Britney Spears is in...a trainwreck that you hope pulls herself together before she kills herself. The one big diference, Wino has talent.
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Lovely...
People who do drugs on that level have no connection to reality outside their own heads. Getting a “Best Female Solo Artist” award, no doubt cemented her separate reality.
ha ha ha...for her it is...look at her.
My thought exactly.
What? I never heard of this loser.
ping
Too bad. She and her husband should have a reality show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFVM5pVTwkM
Her voice is very good.
I’m not a huge fan, but I do admire her artful use of eyeliner.
“artful”? For my Gramma.
Hey!
It’s great stage make-up— very kholish Cleopatra-ee. Besides, if you have wrinkles, you can’t wear it that thick.
But she fits into much smaller sizes now!
WHOA!!
Wow...in that pic on the right she’s actually hot and doable. On the left she looks like a crack whore.
That’s because she is a crack whore.
Exactly. Her professional recordings are just stunning. This woman can really sing! Alas, she's on my celeb death-pool list --and much higher ranked than Britney or Lindsey, who are but mere pikers compared to Winehouse when it comes to drug and alcohol consumption.
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