It’s about some of the late singer’s possessions – including the famous bamboo dress.
The dress that Amy Winehouse wore for her last appearance was auctioned three years ago for 192,000 pounds (around 224,000 euros). Now it’s at the center of a legal battle between Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch Winehouse and her friends Naomi Perry and Catriona Gourley.
Auction leads to legal battle with Winehouse’s father
When Winehouse played her last ever gig on June 18, 2011, she wore a bamboo-print dress designed by one of her closest friends, Naomi Perry. The dress, as well as many of the singer’s other possessions, later belonged to Perry and another friend of Amy Winehouse – Catriona Gourley. In 2021, the two women decided to part with some of the pieces from their collection, after having held an exhibition and made contributions to radio or television programs in previous years to keep the musician’s memory alive. So in two auctions – one in 2021 and one this year – they began selling some dresses, handbags, underwear and makeup, as well as notes and sketches that Winehouse had given them over the years.
The sales from the auction prompted singer Mitch Winehouse’s father, in his role as executor of his daughter’s estate, to sue. He now claims Perry and Gourley made £3.3 million from selling his daughter’s belongings. A spokesperson for Winehouse said: “In 2021, Amy’s estate auctioned items from her life and career, with 30 percent of the proceeds going to the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Two people sold a number of items at this auction and kept the proceeds.”
Legal fees put friends in financial trouble
Mitch Winehouse now demanded 730,000 pounds (around 850,000 euros) of her winnings back for the “Amy Winehouse Foundation”. The accused women have now turned to crowdfunding to cover their legal fees. The pair have already raised more than £65,000 but fear the total could exceed £250,000 after they hired London law firm Lee & Thompson to represent them in court. They say that the auction proceeds have been completely used up by the bills.
More about Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse died in 2011 at the age of 27. The cause of death was determined to be an accident involving alcohol poisoning. Her 2006 album BACK TO BLACK made her an international star. The singer won five Grammys, including for Album of the Year and Song of the Year.