DARK TOURISM HERE IN THE UK – WHERE GOOD AND EVIL COLLIDE & WHERE FANTASY MEETS REALITY .
TRUE CRIME , MURDERABILIA, WITCHCRAFT, SATANISM AND THE OCCULT …. IT’S ALL HERE AND MUCH MORE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE , UK .
ABOVE: Original painting by Gloucestershire artist Paul Bridgman of John Wayne Gacy on display at Littledean Jail .
All of Gacy’s known murders were committed inside his Norwood Park, Illinois home. His victims would typically be lured to this address by force or deception, and all but one victim were murdered by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a tourniquet (his first victim was stabbed to death). Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space of his home. Three further victims were buried elsewhere on his property, while the bodies of his last four known victims were discarded in the Des Plaines River.
Gacy became known as the “Killer Clown” due to his charitable services at fundraising events, parades, and children’s parties where he would dress as “Pogo the Clown”, a character he devised himself.
BELOW : Various exhibit items to include one of Gacy’s “Pogo The Clown ” suits , handwritten and signed correspondence , a hand painting and various other memorabilia, all of which is on display here at The Crime Through Time Collection , Littledean Jail , Forest of Dean , Gloucestershire, UK .
ABOVE AND BELOW : One of John Wayne Gacy’s original worn clown suits. There are two other known Gacy clown suits on display at The National Museum of Crime , Washington DC , USA .
BELOW: picture of 2 other Gacy clown suits, on display at The National Museum of Crime, Washington DC ….. Previously owned ( not sure if he still owns them ) by Jonathan Davis, lead singer of American Heavy Metal Band “Korn .”
ABOVE: John Wayne Gacy pictured in jail, so say, shortly before his execution by lethal injection
Above : Sue Tilley standing alongside Lucian Freud’s £35.8 Million painting of herself entitled ” Benefit Supervisor Resting”
ABOVE : LEFT TO RIGHT … A PERSONALLY INSCRIBED AND SIGNED PORTRAIT COPY OF THE LUCIAN FREUD PAINTING SOLD FOR £35 MILLION . THE MIDDLE PICTURE SHOWS A BRA OWNED AND WORN BY SUE , THIS BEING COMPLETE WITH HAND DRAWN AND SIGNED “HIS AND HER’S DOODLE SCRIBBLES” ON THE CUPS OF THE BRA . ( NOW POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE BRA’S IN THE WORLD ????) THIS BRA IS ON PERMANENT DISPLAY HERE AT LITTLDEAN JAIL . ON THE RIGHT IS A PHOTO OF ANDY JONES FROM LITTLEDEAN JAIL WITH SUE AT A LONDON ART EXHIBITION EVENT
Below: Freud’s Painting of a Jobcentre Clerk breaks his record : “Benefits Supervisor Resting” sells at auction for a staggering £35.8 Million
BELOW IS A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING PREVIOUSLY INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY SUE TILLEY FOR DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL
A Lucian Freud painting of a voluptuous Jobcentre clerk has set a world record for the artist by selling for more than £35million.Benefits Supervisor Resting went under the hammer for £35.8million at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sale in Manhattan yesterday.The 1994 painting, which shows 280-pound Sue Tilley sitting naked on a sofa, was sold to London art dealer Pilar Ordovas on behalf of an anonymous buyer.Miss Tilley became Freud’s muse in the early Nineties, posing for £20 a day. Freud, who died in 2011, painted Miss Tilly – who he nicknamed ‘Fat Sue’ – four times.
Benefits Supervisor Sleeping is a 1995 oil on canvas painting by Lucian Freud depicting an obese, naked woman lying on a couch. It is a portrait of Sue Tilley, then weighing about 127 kg, a Job Centre supervisor. Tilley is the author of a biography of the Australian performer Leigh Bowery titled “Leigh Bowery, The Life and Times of an Icon”. Tilley was introduced to Freud by Bowery, who was already modelling for him. Freud painted a number of large portraits of her around the period 1994-96, and came to call her “Big Sue”. He said of her body “It’s flesh without muscle and it has developed a different kind of texture through bearing such a weight-bearing thing”.
The painting held the world record for the highest price paid for a painting by a living artist, of US$33.6 million (£17.2 million). It was sold at Christie’s in New York in May 2008 to Roman Abramovich.
Above: Andy Jones and Sue Tilley at an art exhibition in London .
ABOVE AND BELOW : VARIOUS HAND SIGNED EXHIBIT PIECES FROM SUE TILLEY ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL , ALONG WITH HER BRA
ABOVE: SUE WITH HER CLOTHES ON
BELOW ARE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF A GREAT “TONGUE IN CHEEK” PERSONALLY OWNED AND WORN XXL BRA SIGNED ALONG WITH A HAND DRAWN DOODLE OF A “HIS AND HERS FACE ” …. ALSO HERE ON DISPLAY
SUE TILLEY’S HANDS DRAWN BY HERSELF FOR DISPLAY HERE WHILST SAT DOWN IN AN INDIAN RESTAURANT IN LONDON FOR A MEAL AND CHAT
Benefits Supervisor Sleeping is a 1995 oil on canvas painting by Lucian Freud depicting an obese, naked woman lying on a couch. It is a portrait of Sue Tilley, then weighing about 127 kg, a Job Centre supervisor. Tilley is the author of a biography of the Australian performer Leigh Bowery titled “Leigh Bowery, The Life and Times of an Icon”. Tilley was introduced to Freud by Bowery, who was already modelling for him. Freud painted a number of large portraits of her around the period 1994-96, and came to call her “Big Sue”. He said of her body “It’s flesh without muscle and it has developed a different kind of texture through bearing such a weight-bearing thing”.
The painting held the world record for the highest price paid for a painting by a living artist, of US$33.6 million (£17.2 million). It was sold at Christie’s in New York in May 2008 to Roman Abramovich.
The painting was exhibited twice at Flowers Gallery: 1996: Naked – Flowers East at London Fields 1997: British Figurative Art – Part 1: Painting at Flowers East
Private: Lucian Freud spoke candidly about his gambling problem
Artist Lucian Freud ran up half a million pounds in gambling debts with gangland crimelords the Kray brothers.
Britain’s most renowned living artist said the brothers ‘forced’ money on him to feed his addiction, but he was only able to repay them in small amounts.
The 87-year-old confessed he once cancelled an exhibition out of fear they would demand more money if they saw he was earning.
The situation got so bad that at one point he received a warning from the police.
In a revealing interview, the notoriously private artist discussed the nights he spent in police cells for fighting, his relationship with Kate Moss and how he escorted Greta Garbo to nightclubs.
‘She was the most famous person in the world at that stage. I was very young, she was in her late thirties,’ he said of the actress.
‘The people in the clubs could not believe it.’
He said of Kate Moss, whom he met through his fashion designer daughter Bella: ‘She was interesting company and full of surprising behaviour,’ said Freud, who in 2002 painted a portrait of the heavily-pregnant and naked model in 2002.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said he was sometimes annoyed when Miss Moss was late for sittings ‘only in that way that girls are’.
He believes the painting was unsuccessful because photographers waited outside his house, disturbing his obsession with privacy.
Freud had a well-documented relationship with the Kray twins Reggie and Ronnie – with Reggie counting Freud amongst his favourite painters.
Club owner: Reggie Kray, centre, with Eddie Pucci, Frank Sinatra’s bodyguard and Shirley Bassey in the early Sixties
Their paths crossed in the swinging Sixties demi-monde of West End nightclub life.
As club owners the Krays mixed with politicians and great entertainers of the day including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland Shirley Bassey and Barbara Windsor.
The artist once said of his gambling: ‘I always went all out. The idea of it being a sport seemed to me insane. The thing I liked was risking everything. Losing everything to do with money.’
A self-portrait of Freud nursing a black eye after a punch-up with a taxi driver sold for more than £2.8million last month
He also explained his reasons for stopping gambling: ‘As I got more money, they wouldn’t take the bets and it just became pointless.
‘If I’d been in very high-powered card games with grand, rich people, perhaps, but that wasn’t what I did.’
The artist also disclosed he has four new muses: he is painting his assistant David Dawson; artist and printmaker Perienne Christian, 26; and two restaurateurs – Jeremy King, co-owner of The Wolseley where Freud frequently eats, and Sally Clarke, owner of Clarke’s in Kensington.
Artist and gambler: Freud in 1958
Freud is the grandson of Sigmund Freud and was born in Berlin where, at the age of nine, he photographed Hitler.
The family moved to England in 1933 to escape the rise of Nazism, and became British citizens six years later.
Freud reveals their naturalisation was made possible by the intervention of the Duke of Kent.
Freud’s painting Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, a life-size portrait of Jobcentre worker Sue Tilley, sold for £17.2million in 2008.
It set the world record for the highest price paid in an auction for a work of art by a living artist.
He remains ambitious though, adding: I work every day and night. I don’t do anything else. There is no point otherwise.’
This month, a self-portrait of Freud nursing a black eye after a punch-up with a taxi driver sold for more than £2.8million at auction.
The artist has previously discussed his habit of getting into scrapes, saying: ‘I used to have a lot of fights.
‘It wasn’t because I liked fighting, it was really just that people said things to me to which I felt the only reply was to hit them.
Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo tell ITV’s This Morning that their trial was mortifying for everyone involved, not just Nigella Lawson.
Nigella Lawson‘s former personal assistants have said they may have won their legal battle but the celebrity chef has won the hearts of the British public.
Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo spoke to ITV This Morning following their acquittal in December on charges of fraudulently using company credit cards, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on designer goods for themselves, while working as personal assistants to Lawson and her ex-husband Charles Saatchi.
The sisters claimed every purchase had been approved by their then bosses, and they were found not guilty by jurors at Isleworth crown court in west London.
“We have won the court case but definitely she had the most support from the public. She [Lawson] is well loved and she will always be loved and I am sure she will be fine,” Francesca Grillo, 35, told the programme on Tuesday. “She is great at what she is doing and I wish her all the best.”
Lawson, whose series The Taste starts on Tuesday evening on Channel 4, said last week that her only desire during the trial had been to protect her children but that she was unable to always do so.
The mother-of-two appeared on the US TV show Good Morning America to promote her new show and was asked about the court case in which allegations of drug-taking arose.
Asked what it was like to be a witness in the trial, Lawson said: “I can’t really remember exactly because you’re so focused on answering the questions to the best of your ability that actually you don’t really have an enormous awareness of yourself.
“Maybe that’s a good thing. My only desire really was to protect my children as much as possible which … alas I couldn’t always do.”
Lawson added that having details of her acrimonious split from the art dealer Saatchi talked about in court under the glare of the world’s media was mortifying.
Nigella Lawson tells Good Morning America she felt herself to be on trial. She was not asked about the drug claims made against her in court. Photograph: Barcroft USA”To have not only your private life but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying, but there are people going through an awful lot worse and to dwell on any of it would be self-pity and I don’t like to do that,” she said.
She said she was looking towards the future. “Since then I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate, had a very good Christmas and am into the new year.”
Lawson admitted during the trial that she took cocaine with her late husband John Diamond when he found out he had terminal cancer, and in 2010 when she claimed she was being “subjected to intimate terrorism” by Saatchi. Police are to review her admission that she took the
The Grillos said on Tuesday it was brave of their former employer to admit during the trial that she had taken cocaine. The sisters said they did not feel guilty about Lawson giving evidence because their own “freedom was at stake”.
Francesca Grillo said: “It was tough but it was more tough to sit down in a dock and think, I might be in prison for a long time.”
She said of Lawson’s family affairs being aired publicly: “I felt sorry for all of us involved. We shouldn’t have reached that. But unfortunately you are in a position where your freedom is at stake so you have to tell your side of the story … I wish it didn’t happen, but I had to think about my freedom.”
She added: “We were in court not because of her drug use or because we wanted her to be punished. In admitting it, I think she was very brave to do so … but I didn’t feel guilty.
“It’s mortifying for her, it’s mortifying for us, it’s mortifying for everybody involved.”
Elisabetta said: “I feel sorry that we ended up in that situation, that she [Lawson] did admit to that. But no, not guilty, because it was nothing to do with me, it’s her life.”
Francesca said of being accused: “It’s like you wake up one morning and your mother says, ‘I’m not your mother any more, sorry. You’ve been with me all your life, but I don’t know you any more.'”
Elisabetta added: “There are no winners in this situation. All of us lost something.”
Francesca said it was too early for a reconciliation with Lawson. “It’s like a broken mirror – you can glue it back together but you see all the cracks.”
She said that when she was told of the jury’s verdict, her sister had a panic attack. “At that point I just wanted my sister to be well. I wasn’t very worried about the verdict.”
CELEBRITY TRAGEDIES, SLEAZE , SCANDAL AND MUCH MORE… HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011)
SHE DIED TOO YOUNG
WELL WORN, BLOODSTAINED BALLET PUMPS (SHOES) FROM AMY WINEHOUSE…. HERE ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ALONG WITH OTHER PERSONALLY SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDING AN INSIGHT INTO THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THIS ICONIC STAR.
BELOW IS A WELL WORN HAIR EXTENSION PIECE FROM AMY WINEHOUSE WHICH IS ALSO ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE JAIL
HERE ARE VARIOUS AUTHENTIC SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS PREVIOUSLY ACQUIRED DIRECTLY FROM AMY WINEHOUSE WHICH ARE ALL ON DISPLAY WITHIN VARIOUS MONTAGES THAT TOUCH UPON THE LIFE, TIMES AND DEATH OF THIS SADLY TRAGIC ICONIC AND HIGHLY TALENTED SONGSTRESS .
A GREAT TRACK AND VIDEO FROM THE LATE GREAT LADY – AMY WINEHOUSE PERFORMING HER CLASSIC 2006 HIT – BACK TO BLACK
THE INFAMOUS 27 CLUB…….. FREAKY COINCIDENCE -2009 PREDICTION THAT AMY WINEHOUSE COULD WELL JOIN OTHER LEGENDARY MUSIC ICONS IN THE THE 27 CLUB (AMY WINEHOUSE DIES 23RD JULY AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 27 ) THE PROGRAMME GOES ON TO EXAMINE OTHER CELEBRITY CURSES AND DEATHS . SEE ALL VIDEO FOOTAGE BELOW FOR SOME FASCINATING INTERACTIVE MATERIAL …..” WELL WORTH WATCHING “
Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead at her London flat after suspected ‘drug overdose’
Troubled singer had a long battle with drink and drugs
London Ambulance Service found singer at 3.54pm but unable to revive her
She was ‘beyond help’ according to Sky sources
Autopsy could take place ‘within next 24 hours’
Comes after Winehouse was booed off stage after shambolic Serbian show
Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home in London.
The Back To Black singer was found at the property by emergency services at 3.54pm, and it’s believed Winehouse’s death was due to a suspected drug overdose.
Winehouse was apparently ‘beyond help’ when paramedics arrived, according to Sky sources.
Sources have also claimed Winehouse’s death was due to a drug overdose.
Passing: Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home this afternoon
The scene: Amy was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon after emergency services arrived at her house in north London
Tragic: Winehouse’s body is seen being removed from her home
Drama: Members of the press and local residents watch as Winehouse’s body is taken to the van
WITHIN MINUTES 20M WERE TALKING TO EACH OTHER ON TWITTER ABOUT THE SINGER’S SUDDEN DEATH
Before it was announced on mainstream media the micro-blogging site was responding to the death of the singer and ‘Amy Winehouse’ quickly became one of Twitter’s ‘trending’ topics.
Trending refers to whichever names or terms are the most talked about at that particular moment. These are defined by the site as ‘most breaking’ topics.
Unlike topics which are discussed for a length of time, such as the phone hacking scandal, trending topics see huge numbers of Twitter users debating subjects as they happen.
Shortly after the confirmation of her death, Winehouse was mentioned in nearly 10 per cent of all tweets worldwide. As there are 200million users this equates to 20million people communicating with one another about her death.
Two ambulance crews arrived at the scene within five minutes and a paramedic on a bicycle also attended, according to a spokeswoman.
‘Sadly the patient had died,’ she added.
A statement from Winehouse’s U.S. record label read: ‘We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist and performer.
‘Our prayers go out to Amy’s family, friends and fans at this difficult time.’
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased.
‘On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘Enquiries continue into the circumstances of the death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in a press conference this evening that no cause of death had yet been confirmed.
He said: ‘I am aware of reports of a suspected drugs overdose, but I would like to reremphaise that no post-mortem has yet taken place and it would be inapproporaite to speculate on the cause of death.
‘The death of any person is a sad time of friends and family especially for someone known nationally and internationally like Amy Winehouse. My sympathy extends not only to her family but also to her millions of fans across the world.’
A spokesman for the late singer said: ‘Everyone involved with Amy is shocked and devastated.
‘Our thoughts are with her family and friends. The family will issue a statement when ready.’
It has also been claimed on gossip website RadarOnline.com that Winehouse’s autopsy could take place within the next 24 hours.
Last public appearance: Amy joined goddaughter Dionne Bromfield on stage during the iTunes festival on Wednesday night
Healthy: Amy was spotted out in London looking healthier earlier this month
A Scotland Yard spokesman is quoted by the website as saying: ‘The postmortem has not been scheduled yet but it is unlikely to take place before tomorrow.
‘In the case of a murder it can be done within hours but this is not the case so tomorrow or even Monday is more likely in these circumstances.’
A section of the road where the singer lived remained cordoned off tonight. Journalists, local residents and fans gathered at the police tapes, while forensic officers were seen going in and out of the building.
One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she saw the singer’s grief-stricken boyfriend, believed to be film director Reg Traviss, on the ground outside the house.
Two women then came ‘speeding’ up in a black Mercedes and walked in and out of the house crying. They said they believed the singer was at home last night.
Winehouse’s father, Mitch, is understood to be returning to the UK from New York. He had been due to perform at the Blue Note jazz club in the city on Monday.
A message has been placed on the club’s website, reading: ‘We are very sad to report that the Mitch Winehouse performance on Monday July 25th is cancelled due to the unexpected death of his daughter, Amy Winehouse.
‘Our condolences go out to Mitch and his family.’ Mitch is now on his way back from New York.
Winehouse had been seen with her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield earlier this week as the teenager took to the stage at the iTunes festival.
She refused to join in for Mama Said, but did support the 14-year-old with a few dance moves before urging the crowd to buy Dionne’s new album Good For The Soul.
A source said: ‘Amy staggered onstage and grabbed the mic to beg the crowd to buy her protege’s new album.’
Winehouse’s appearance at the concert came after she cancelled her European tour following a disastrous performance in June when she stumbled onto the stage in Belgrade and gave an incoherent performance appearing very disorientated and removed from reality.
Unconfirmed: A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the cause of death has yet to be confirmed
Mourning: Floral tributes are left outside Amy’s house as news breaks of her death
Heartfelt: One note from a local resident states how much the singer will be missed in her local community
Following the concert which saw fans enraged and the subsequent video that circulated to millions she cancelled the remaining dates of her European tour.
A statement released by the troubled singer’s spokesperson at the time said that the singer would be given ‘as long as it takes’ to recover.
The statement read: ‘Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances.
‘Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen.’
Family: Amy with her father Mitch, to whom she was incredibly close, and her mother Janis
Shambolic: Amy was booed off stage during a shambolic performance in Belgrade in June
AMY AND BLAKE: A TROUBLED ROMANCE
Amy married Blake Fielder-Civil in Miami, Florida in 2007 but they were divorced two years later in September 2009.
From the beginning there relationship was fraught with difficulty as they struggled with addictions to crack cocaine and heroin. This led to numerous break-ups and ensuing make-ups.
Three months after they divorced speculation began to mount that they would one more marry. This was supported by the announcement on Facebook where they had both changed their relationship status to married.
But they never actually went ahead with it.
Fielder-Civil’s troubles continued and in June of this year was sentenced to 32 months in prison for burglary and possession of an imitation firearm.
Police caught the 29-year-old in a car in February with an altered number plate full of recently stolen possessions.
Winehouse had been working on her long-awaited new album, the follow-up to her 2006 breakthrough multi-million selling Back To Black, for the past three years.
The singer was born Amy Jade Winehouse on 14th September 1983 in Southgate, London.
Winehouse has had a troubled life which has included various stints in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.
The singer is thought to have been to rehab four times.
In an interview in 2008, her mother Janis said she would be unsurprised if her daughter died before her time.
She said: ‘I’ve known for a long time that my daughter has problems.
‘But seeing it on screen rammed it home. I realise my daughter could be dead within the year. We’re watching her kill herself, slowly.
‘I’ve already come to terms with her dead. I’ve steeled myself to ask her what ground she wants to be buried in, which cemetery.
‘Because the drugs will get her if she stays on this road.
‘I look at Heath Ledger and Britney. She’s on their path. It’s like watching a car crash – this person throwing all these gifts away.’
In addition, there was a website set up called When Will Amy Winehouse Die?, with visitors asked to guess the date of death with the chance of winning an iPod Touch.
In an interview last October with Harper’s Bazaar magazine, Amy was asked if she was happy.
She replied: ‘I don’t know what you mean. I’ve got a very nice boyfriend. He’s very good to me.’
And, asked if she had any unfulfilled ambitions, Amy replied: ‘Nope! If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl.’
As well her battles with drugs and alcohol, Winehouse also had a troubled marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, who she divorced in summer 2009.
Fielder-Civil and Winehouse married in 2007 in Miami.
The pair’s relationship – heavily documented by the media – saw them appearing in public bloodied and bruised after fights.
It is also alleged former music video producer Fielder-Civil was the one who introduced the Back to Black star to heroin and crack cocaine.
Amy’s father Mitch previously spoke out about how his daughter stayed away from drugs prior to meeting her ex-husband.
In a previous interview last year he said: ‘He’s not entirely responsible, she’s got to take a portion of the responsibility, but it’s clear, it really kicked off when they got together.’
Most recently, Winehouse was romantically linked to film director Reg Traviss, who she dated for a few months last year.
Weight worries: Amy also caused concern with her shrinking frame, and looked gaunt back in 2008 (right)
And Mitch also gave the new man his seal of approval.
In an interview with STV’s The Hour programme, he said: ‘I’m happy she’s got a new boyfriend. I’m happy that she’s moving on with her life.’
He said Traviss was a ‘very nice, normal bloke’. The pair split in January this year but quickly rekindled their relationship.
In March, Traviss said: ‘We’ve been together nearly a year now and we’re very happy. Amy’s doing well, she’s fine. She’s healthy and happy.’
AMY WINEHOUSE – THE LATEST MEMBER OF THE ’27 CLUB’
The singer’s tragic death at the age of 27 puts her in a pantheon of famous musicians who have all died at the same age.
Amy follows now joins the notorious 27 Club, also known as Forever 27, which is a group of musicians who have all died at the age while struggling to cope with fame.
Club members: Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison are among those who died at the age of 27
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was the most recent victim and in 1994, pumped with heroin and valium, he turned a gun on himself.
Decades earlier Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones all died at 27.
Rolling Stone Jones drowned in a swimming pool in 1969; Hendrix choked to death in 1970 after mixing wine with sleeping pills and singer Janis Joplin suffered a suspected heroin overdose the same year.
Doors star Morrison died of heart failure in 1971.
Winehouse has also caused controversy with her weight over the past few years. After hitting the music industry as a curvy role model, Winehouse then shed an astonishing amount of weight, leading to her looking gaunt in 2008.
Amy had a hugely successful musical career with the release of her debut album Frank in 2003, and the record considered her breakthrough album – Back To Black in 2006.
The singer featured on the Sunday Times Rich List earlier this year with an estimated net worth of around £6million.
During her career, Winehouse won awards including five Grammy Awards, a Q Music Award for Best Album for Back To Black and a World Music Award in 2008 for World’s Best Selling Pop/Rock Female Artist.
Finding love again: Amy is believed to have been dating film director Reg Traviss at the time of her death
Success: Amy performed via video link at the Grammy Awards in 2008 after winning five awards
The tragic loss of Amy Winehouse has robbed us of a young, if fatally troubled, life cut down in its prime. It has also cheated British music of a talent, at 27, whose best years surely still lay ahead.
As a homegrown singer, she was with without question the outstanding vocalist of her generation. Without Amy, there would have been no Adele, no Duffy and no Lady Gaga. She may have been an alumni of the Brit School, but Winehouse was also a British great.
In an era of manufactured stars and precision-tooled pop puppets, she was the real deal. For all her demons – and, sadly, sometimes because of them – she cut through pop’s hyperbole. Her rawness and emotional honesty harked back to an era when the best singers were more believable. For a white girl raised in the North London suburbs, she had the sweet, sure touch of an Aretha Franklin or Etta James.
Tragic loss: Amy Winehouse was a talented and much-loved singer and performer
Her talent was obvious from the off. The first time I saw her live was at the V Festival eight years ago. Tucked away at the bottom of the bill in one of the small tents, well away from the crowds gathering for headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers, she oozed class. Dressed in a Fifties-style frock, playing a white Fender guitar, she showed nervous glimpses of a talent that would later wow the world.
I was lucky enough to interview her twice. The first time came shortly before the release of debut album Frank in 2003. Having met her in a photographic studio in Soho around lunchtime, we relocated, at Amy’s insistence, to her favourite local Italian cafe, where we enjoyed a lengthy chat over a large, non alcoholic lunch. She struck me then as a witty, intelligent young girl on the cusp of womanhood.
Full of joy: Amy performing at the start of her career back in 2004
She was full of the joys of life and understandably excited about her future.
Confident in her own abilities, she was gleefully irreverent. Whereas other singers, media-trained to within an inch of their lives, were masters in the art of diplomacy, she happily sounded off with little regard of the consequences.
Unconcerned about how her words might look in print, she dismissed her peers.
Dido and Norah Jones, huge at the time, were among her targets. They were ridiculed for being bland. She was savage, too, in her criticisms of Madonna.
She was naive, yes, but immensely likeable. A glowing review ensued.
Later, shortly before the release of second album Back To Black, I came face to face with a different Amy. Noticeably more slight than when we’d met three years previously, she turned up late in a coffee bar close to her North London home, but still turned heads with her long, raven black hair and striking eye-liner.
But, while some of that earlier youthful, sparkle had gone, she still struck me as a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. Perhaps more aware of her own flaws, she even retracted what she had said three years earlier about her fellow female stars. ‘When I was promoting my first album I was very defensive, so I lashed out a lot,’ she said. ‘But I won’t be saying anything negative about other singers now. They’ve got their job to do. I’m just happy to be doing my own thing.’ More mature in many ways, she was ready to let her music do the talking.
And Back To Black did just that. Rooted in emotional turmoil, it will go down as one of the classic British albums. Even now, in an era where female pop rules the charts in the shape of Adele, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Gaga, nothing has come close to packing the sheer emotional punch of Back To Black. A departure from her jazzy debut, it was stark, simple and stunningly direct.
Musical stylings: Amy caused a stir with her first album Frank in 2004, and followed it with Back To Black in 2006
Musically, it was influenced heavily by Sixties girl groups such as The Shangri-Las and The Supremes. Lyrically, most notably on signature tune Rehab, it was clearly affected by the demons that were now troubling the singer. A far more commercial prospect than her eclectic debut, it went on to sell millions.
It won Grammys and Brits and established Amy as the pre-eminent soul girl of her age.
Despite her problems, the Amy I glimpsed during our brief encounters was different from her public persona. Nobody makes records as good and enduring as Frank and Back To Black without an intimate knowledge of the essential ingredients of great pop music. And Amy certainly had that in abundance.
For me, the most recent example of the way in which her talent truly touched people from all walks of life came in a conversation a few weeks ago with the great Tony Bennett, who sung with Amy on a track, Body And Soul, from his forthcoming duets album. As a singer who has worked with the best, from Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald, he had no doubt as to where Amy stood – she was one of the best. Remember her this way.
R.I.P. CYNTHIA PAYNE ….born December 24 1932, died November 15 2015
BROTHEL QUEEN CYNTHIA IN HER PRIME
Sad to hear the news of one of our truly “Great British icons” … Cynthia Payne’s death on Sunday 15 November 2015, whom we have long featured here at Littledean Jail.
For a more in depth insight into the life and times of Cynthia please click HERE
TITILLATION , A BIT OF FETISH & THE TABOO HERE AT THE JAIL
As an allegedly … self proclaimed – politically incorrect tourist attraction , we of course touch upon this industry .
On display we have personal exhibit items & signed ephemera from brothel madame … Cynthia Payne including one of her personal & well used whips , luncheon vouchers etc
DO NOT FORGET … IF EASILY OFFENDED STAY AWAY FROM LITTLEDEAN JAIL.
CLICK ON ABOVE IMAGE TO WATCH CYNTHIA PAYNE NEWS VIDEO
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1987: Mrs Payne is no brothel Madam
Party planner Cynthia Payne has been acquitted of nine charges of controlling prostitutes at her home in south west London.The courtroom burst into applause after decision of the jury – of eight men and four women – was announced after just over five hours of deliberation.
Mrs Payne, 53, said: “This is a victory for common sense. But I have to admit all this has put me off having parties for a bit.”
Mrs Payne first hit the headlines in 1978 when police raided her home to find a sex party in full swing, attended by middle-aged and elderly men exchanging luncheon vouchers for sexual entertainment.
After a trial in 1980 she was sentenced to 18 months which was then reduced to six months and a fine on appeal.
This time she ended up in court after holding an “end of film” party following the production of the movie Personal Services, starring Julie Walters.
Author of a book about Mrs Payne’s life, Paul Bailey, described her as “a chirpy little Cockney woman going round telling people to behave themselves.”
After the 13-day trial she sent Judge Brian Pryor QC a copy of the book, An English Madam, with the inscription: “I hope this book will broaden your rather sheltered life”.
Legal costs reimbursed
During proceedings at the Inner London Crown Court Judge Pryor told the court: “You must be sure that the particular woman was acting as a prostitute and that that particular girl’s movements were influenced one way or another by Mrs Payne.”
He ordered defence costs – in a trial costing £117,000 – to be paid from central funds and Mrs Payne’ s £5,000 legal aid costs to be reimbursed.
The prosecution said Mrs Payne provided facilities for prostitutes in her home in Ambleside Avenue, Streatham including, food, drink, condoms and bedrooms.
Mrs Payne emerged from the court beaming with smiles as she was mobbed by a crowd of 100 media and well-wishers.
Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens said: “It seems astounding that all this public money should be poured into bringing these charges.”
Police said they would not be reviewing their policy over the prosecution of brothel madams.
Cynthia Payne is due to face further charges of brothel keeping at magistrates’ court.
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SEE BELOW A FEW SIGNED ITEMS FROM OUR MADAMME CYNTHIA PAYNE DISPLAY HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL A SIGNED XMAS CARD WITH PERSONALLY SIGNED PHOTO FROM CYNTHIA PAYNE FRONT AND REAR FACE OF CYNTHIA PAYNE’S A BOARD , INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY HER BACK IN 1987 THAT WAS ORIGINALLY ON HER STAIRWELL AT HER HOUSE OF SIN AND ILL REPUTE (BROTHEL) AT 32 AMBLESIDE AVENUE , STREATHAM .LONDON . NOW ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL
ABOVE…. INSCRIBED AND HAND SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH BY HER LADYSHIP CYNTHIA PAYNE
ABOVE… HAND SIGNED ELECTION FLYER FEATURING CYNTHIA PAYNE
Cynthia Payne (born 24 December 1932, in Bognor Regis, West Sussex) is a retired English party hostess who made the headlines in the 1970s and 1980s when she was accused of being a madam and of running her brothel at 32 Ambleside Avenue, in Streatham, in the south-west of London, England.[1]
Payne first came to national attention in 1978 when police raided her home and found a sex party was in progress. Elderly men paid in Luncheon Vouchersto dress up in lingerie and be spanked by young women.[2] When the case came to trial in 1980, she was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, reduced to a fine and six months on appeal.[3] She served four months in Holloway prison.[2]
In 1986, the police raided her home again, this time during a “special party” she was hosting after shooting the film of her life had been completed. Although she was acquitted on this occasion,[3] the resulting court case in 1987 made headlines for several weeks with lurid tales, some details of which she aired onThe Dame Edna Experience in 1988, with co-guests Sir John Mills and Rudolf Nureyev, where she also launched her book, Entertaining at Home. The court case ended her career as a party giver.
On this programme, she expressed an interest in becoming an MP, in order to change Britain’s anti sex laws, which she followed through with by standing for Parliament as a candidate for the Payne and Pleasure Party in the Kensington by-election in July 1988, followed by her standing in her own area ofStreatham in the 1992 UK General Election. She did not gain a parliamentary seat.
There have been two films made that are loosely based on her life. Wish You Were Here (1987), about her adolescence with Emily Lloyd in the lead role, and Personal Services (also 1987) about her adult life starred Julie Walters. Both were written (and Wish You Were Here was directed) by David Leland, but are vague in their similarities.
Cynthia Payne has made appearances as an after-dinner speaker and launched a new range of adult services and products in 2006.
Artist and gambler: Freud in 1958
Nigella Lawson tells Good Morning America she felt herself to be on trial. She was not asked about the drug claims made against her in court. Photograph: Barcroft USA”To have not only your private life but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying, but there are people going through an awful lot worse and to dwell on any of it would be self-pity and I don’t like to do that,” she said.
Passing: Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home this afternoon
The scene: Amy was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon after emergency services arrived at her house in north London
Tragic: Winehouse’s body is seen being removed from her home
Last public appearance: Amy joined goddaughter Dionne Bromfield on stage during the iTunes festival on Wednesday night
Unconfirmed: A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the cause of death has yet to be confirmed
Mourning: Floral tributes are left outside Amy’s house as news breaks of her death
Heartfelt: One note from a local resident states how much the singer will be missed in her local community
Tragic loss: Amy Winehouse was a talented and much-loved singer and performer
Full of joy: Amy performing at the start of her career back in 2004
THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION .... HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK 