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“She made it look so effortless”: Pete Doherty reflects on Amy Winehouse’s unappreciated “talent as a guitar player”
A biopic on the life of Amy Winehouse was released in the UK on 12 April.
Images: Shirlaine Forrest (left) and Ian Dickson (right) / Getty
The Libertines’ Pete Doherty has recalled watching Amy Winehouse play guitar, sharing that “she made it look so effortless”.
Winehouse passed away in 2011 at the age of 27. She began playing guitar at age 14, with her music often influenced by jazz. Her 2006 album Back To Black became one of the best-selling albums in the UK.
Doherty has previously said he and Winehouse were romantically involved, and that he believes the immense pressure of fame led to her struggles with alcohol and substance abuse.
During a new interview with MusicRadar, Doherty walks past a billboard promoting the new Winehouse biopic, also of the same title of the famous album, Back To Black.
He comments: “I’m not a censor and it doesn’t matter what I think, but it’ll be interesting to see if they can get someone who can replicate her talent as a guitar player without resorting to AI. Will I watch it? Maybe. If it’s being shown on a long-haul flight.”
He goes on to add, “People usually want to know about the other side of my life, I get that. It was the same with Amy. All about the rumours and the headlines. They didn’t care about the music.
“Listen, I’ve actually sat in a room with her and a guitar. Watching those tiny hands finding all these weird jazz chords. And her strumming patterns… crazy, off-kilter timings. She made it look so effortless.”
In a recent interview with Guitar.com, The Libertines’ Carl Barât looked back on his and Doherty’s own rocky friendship within the public eye. He recalled, “I dare say it’s something deep and a chemistry. We couldn’t fake this. It’s not just because we started the band together, and we still feel we have a mission.
“There’s genuine love there and in our time apart… this sounds like bad marriage therapy… there are parts of us that only the other part can complete. It’s as good and bad a friendship as you could ever hope to have.”
He added, “You know when someone dies and part of your grieving is the person who you were to the person you’ve lost? There’s a version of myself that only exists with Pete, and I suspect the same for him. It feels like fate drew us together, circumstances prised us apart, and we clawed through the wreckage to find each other again.”
Back To Black is in UK cinemas now. The Libertines released their fourth album, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade on 5 April. View all upcoming tour dates for The Libertines.