Unreleased Amy Winehouse Demo Surfaces Online

Amy Winehouse in concert in 2008. Photo by Mike Chapman/REX/Shutterstock (800676j)

One of Amy Winehouse’s early demos just found its way online. Song titled “My Own Way” surfaced, thanks to the late singer’s producer and composer Gil Cang, who worked with her during her early career. According to him, the song was recorded in 2001, when Winehouse was 17, and before she had her debut album out or a contract with Island Records. Amy came to his studio in Hornsey Road and recorded the song, produced and co-composed by James McMillan, in three takes. “My Own Way” was a part of the demo which Winehouse used to get the attention of big record labels. Unlike her later works, which were influenced by jazz, this is a pop song with R&B sound to it.

“We’d been writing quite a lot of pop tunes, doing a lot of pop promos with various artists who would come in, many of various, dubious talent.” – said Cang. “It was at a particularly dire time in the pop world – lots of terrible, terrible girl bands and boy bands and we had to make something for them. Amy came in to see us, opened her mouth and just blew us all away.”

“I’ve had it knocking about for so long,” he added. “I found it again last week and thought – I’ll put it out there so people could hear it.”

Amy Winehouse released her debut album Frank in 2003, which sold in more than million copies and received positive reviews from the critics. Her second album, 2006’s Back to Black, was an even bigger success, receiving widespread acclaim and topping the charts in more than 20 countries including the United States and the UK. It also brought her five Grammys at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Unfortunately, this turned out to be her last release, since Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, aged 27.