Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ marks 20 with a London singalong

By Marcus Bennett

Eleven performers, including Corinne Bailey Rae, Jessie Reyez and Jorja Smith, performed live all 11 tracks from Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black at London’s Roundhouse on Wednesday night, marking the 2006 album’s 20th anniversary.

Outside, the queue was full of winged eyeliner, leopard print, big hair and cigarette smoke. No vapes were visible. Inside, the Roundhouse wore red velvet curtains and fringed lampshades. It stood in Camden, the neighborhood Winehouse loved most, and was her last performance venue before her death at 27.

Mark Ronson, who co-produced the album with Salaam Remi, framed the evening in familiar terms: “I only know Camden through the eyes of Amy, so here we are — we’re in Amy’s house right now.”

He added: “I know you’re all here because of how much you love Amy and her music, and we’re so honored to be a part of that, celebrating her with you tonight.”

Eleven acts, one record

Ronson and Remi had assembled an all-female lineup. The Amy Winehouse Band provided backing, and many of its members had played with Winehouse. Eleven acts took one track each.

Stops and starts in the television coverage delayed the opening by about a minute. The concert was being recorded for a BBC broadcast hosted by Jo Whiley.

Corinne Bailey Rae opened with “Back to Black,” accompanied by Ronson on piano. The two singers had both come up in the London scene in the early 2000s. Her impassioned version established the concert’s central method: one song, one voice, one complete album.

Sasha Keable brought Winehouse-like sass and rasp to “Just Friends.” Newcomer Nia Smith followed, a little nervous, and got the crowd singing along to “Tears Dry on Their Own.”

Skye Newman, 22, had broken through on TikTok. Her soulful, playful “Addicted” suited her husky voice. She was a toddler when Back to Black appeared.

Newman told Whiley in an onstage interview that Winehouse had been a huge inspiration. “She’s someone who has made me feel seen and heard, especially in this space, where a lot of people come from an upper hand. And I don’t. So it’s quite hard to find people who make me feel like I can do it, and she did.”

Yebba then sang a stripped-down “Love Is a Losing Game,” accompanied only by Ronson on guitar. Her voice moved over Winehouse’s complex runs.

When Winehouse first brought him the song, Ronson had no idea how to play it. “Amy’s musicality, she was like a monster, and I definitely want everybody to know that,” he said.

“The chords were so complicated and jazzy, I was like, ‘Man, you just play this song. I don’t even know what I’m doing right now.’ So she did …”

“We’re going to play it the way Amy first played it to me, and I’m going to try to finally play these complicated, jazzy chords for the first time in my life.”

The audience sang along to Terri Walker’s “Me & Mr. Jones” and Leanne La Havas’ “You Know I’m No Good.” The sequence became crowd karaoke.

Baby Rose brought a deep voice to a chill-inducing cover of “Wake Up Alone.” Jorja Smith’s power suited “Some Unholy War.”

FLO, an R&B trio, performed “He Can Only Hold Her” as a 1960s doo-wop number modeled on the Ronettes. Their matching plum two-piece outfits, harmonies and coordinated dance moves honored Winehouse’s love of that era while giving the track new life.

A finale built for the room

Ronson introduced Jessie Reyez for the album’s final track, “Rehab.” He explained his choice: “She has this rasp in her voice and she reminds me of Amy the way she writes — it’s so raw and no bullshit.”

Reyez took the energy in the room to a 10. Wearing a slinky red dress, she crossed the stage, flipped her hair and jumped through the chorus, repeatedly calling “No, no, no!” Her delivery echoed Winehouse’s fiery and sometimes erratic stage presence.

As the applause died down, Ronson welcomed every singer back for a song not on the album. “This is ‘Valerie!’” he shouted as the signature drums started.

Each vocalist took a turn at the microphone, though the crowd’s singing made them hard to hear. Ronson clapped along, smiling. Earlier, he had said: “I can’t believe I got to be involved with that record… I understand how important it is for people.”

What does the anniversary pass on to a new generation?

The anniversary changes the material’s role for younger artists. The songs become active repertoire, not a sealed memorial.

The full-album format made a persuasive case for Winehouse’s songwriting. Yebba’s near-solo arrangement, FLO’s 1960s styling and Reyez’s charged delivery moved the material across styles without stripping away its identity.

Some listeners remembered Winehouse performing “Back to Black” 20 years earlier. Others were toddlers or had not yet been born. Yet they shared the same songs, and the singers yielded space to them.

As these artists take the work into new rooms, the Roundhouse model offers a way to keep Winehouse’s catalog active and communal without turning it into a museum piece.