Singer Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead in London

July 24, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

LONDON

British retro-soul singer Amy Jade Winehouse, who was found dead Saturday in her London apartment, had a penchant for living recklessly — she battled alcoholism and drug addiction, both of which often threatened to derail her career and usually eclipsed her talent. Winehouse was 27.

Winehouse provided much fodder for the British tabloids with her self-destructive behavior, but she was one of the most talented stars of the music world.

As news of her death spread, immediate comparisons were being drawn to doomed “27 Club” pop stars.

These included Rolling Stone Brian Jones, who drowned in a swimming pool in 1969; guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who choked to death in 1970 after mixing wine with sleeping pills; singer Janis Joplin, who suffered a suspected heroin overdose the same year; Doors star Jim Morrison, who died of heart failure in 1971; Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who shot himself in 1994 — all of whom struggled with their fame and also died at the age of 27, the Press Association reported.

The singer, known for her trademark beehive hairdo and sailor tattoos, had canceled all her tour dates and engagements in June after a series of erratic public appearances.

After several months of rehabilitation treatment for drug and alcohol abuse in London, Winehouse returned to the European performance stage that month, but the tour kick-off turned into disaster when she appeared drunk on stage and was booed by a crowd of 20,000 in Belgrade.

Winehouse’s music often focused on drinking, drugs and infidelity. Her hit song, “Rehab,” echoed her own life and turmoil through its lyrics: “They tried to make me go to rehab; I said no, no, no.” The song is about her refusal to seek help at a clinic for people with problems with alcohol.

In 2008, Winehouse dominated the Grammy Awards, but acknowledged her problems with an ironic performance of her hit single “Rehab.”

She won five of the most prestigious prizes in the U.S. music world that year, including record and song of the year for “Rehab.” But