Amy Winehouse: Songs, Style & St James’ Church
Dale Davis, Philip King, Naomi Parry
Featuring access to the Arena film Amy Winehouse: The Day She Came to Dingle
Part of Arena at Jewish Book Week
“The film really shows Amy as musician, song-writer and performer. Far too much is told about her failings and not about her talents – she was an extraordinary musician. If you think about the relationship between Jewish creatives and other marginalised communities – she was Jewish, and female, and working class – and as such drawn to Black American soul, Motown, and jazz…there must be something in that”.
Robert Elms
As we continue our look at the pioneering BBC series Arena and some of the Jewish subjects it covered, we host a live online discussion around Amy Winehouse: The Day She Came to Dingle, an intimate, stripped back film featuring her mesmerising performance at St James’ Church in Dingle, on the Western edge of Ireland, shot in 2006 just before Back to Black went stratospheric.
BBC London presenter Robert Elms, an old friend of Amy’s dad Mitch and the first person to play Amy’s music on mainstream radio, is joined by two close friends and colleagues: stylist Naomi Parry and Dale Davis, Amy’s bass player and musical director, as well as Philip King, musician, co-producer of the film and organiser of the annual Dingle music festival Other Voices. They will look back at the madness of getting to the church on time, that extraordinary performance, her musical influences and her impact.
“In a tiny church in Ireland in 2006,the Londoner shows why her peers and fans raved about her: the innate musicality, the phrasing, the sense of escapism and the buried but clamorous pain” – The Sunday Times
The conversation will feature key extracts from the film, which will be available in full for 5 days after the event to ticket holders only.
Read a full introduction to the film by Series Producer Anthony Wall.
Click here to buy a copy of Amy Winehouse: Beyond Black by Naomi Parry
Philip KingOne of the UK’s most in-demand musicians for over 30 years, Dale first joined Amy Winehouse as her bass player before becoming her musical director from 2004 until her death in 2011. He has performed on numerous sessions and toured around the world with artists including Tina Turner, Emeli Sande, Paul Young and Norman Cook. Other projects have included archiving and restoring Amy Winehouse's musical back catalogue and collaborating on the Oscar, Grammy and Bafta winning documentary film, Amy.
Image cr. Luca Pellizzaro
Philip King is a musician, broadcaster, curator and founder of Other Voices. He is a commentator and contributor to national and international forums on the role and contribution of culture and arts in a world where we are more connected and more isolated than ever before. Philip lives in West Kerry.
Naomi ParryNaomi Parry is a creative director and curator based in London. While studying at the London College of Fashion in 2005 she began her career as Amy Winehouse’s stylist. Over the next six years she worked, travelled and even lived with Amy. She has worked with a variety of music artists and been involved in a wide range of projects in fashion, TV and film. More recently, she founded the company Future Archive to help brands and individuals connect with more people through creative applications of their archive of work.
Robert Elms
Robert Elms is a broadcaster, writer and former editor of The Face. He is best known for his long-running radio show on BBC London. His latest book The Way We Wore is a bestselling memoir on the history of youth culture fashion.
