Amy Winehouse. Can the songs stand without her?
An Amy Winehouse musical would test a familiar claim in the opposite direction: can you separate the art from the artist when the artist's life is what the songs are about?
THE GIST ON AMY WINEHOUSE: "Love Is a Losing Game"
What are the rights holders betting on?
Amy Winehouse's songs are being turned into a West End musical. The people who own them are betting they will sell without her in them. Her father is rumoured to be involved, which matters because he runs her estate.
Three things disappear when she is taken out: her extraordinary voice, the trouble off stage and the risk of an unreliable performance. Those things were also inseparable from her allure as a human being and an artist.
Why is this different from another jukebox musical?
The MJ musical has been successful on Broadway since 2022. But Michael Jackson's songs are not principally accounts of his own collapse. With Amy, the songs were about her, and we watched that story happen.
There was nothing between the art and the artist to cut. Everything she wrote and sang was true when she sang it. Hearing somebody else perform it changes the relationship between the song and the person whose name brings the audience in.
What does the musical really test?
We have spent years asking whether separating the art from the artist lets us keep enjoying the work. This asks the reverse question: whether removing the artist takes away what made the work compelling.
The test is whether separating the art from the artist kills or saves the art. When the only thing left from Amy's music is the music, will the same desire to go and hear it remain?
Would you want to see it?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
What is proposed for Amy Winehouse's songs?
A West End musical, with her father rumoured to be involved.
Why does Huw think it is an unusual test?
Her songs drew directly on her life. Removing her from their performance tests whether the music keeps the same appeal without that relationship.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
The conversation
Comments
Nothing here yet. Start the conversation: Huw reads every comment before it is published.
