People News

Amy Winehouse tribute evening held in Soho

Jul 25, 2012, 8:01 GMT

Amy Winehouse

A karaoke tribute night for Amy Winehouse took place on Monday (23.07.12).

The event at Jazz After Dark in London's Soho was organised by her father Mitch in recognition of a year since the 'Back to Black' star passed away, with her mother Janis, boyfriend Reg Traviss, goddaughter Dionne Bromfield and brother Alex also in attendance.

Speaking before the event, Mitch said: 'There are going to be lots of tears and lots of laughter, and that is exactly how Amy would have wanted it.'

During the evening, Mitch revealed a large cheque of donations to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, the charity he set up in honour of his late daughter, who died of accidental alcohol poisoning at her north London home aged 27.

The showbiz patriarch revealed earlier this week the foundation is to open a children's hospice in north London, where Amy was born and raised, after the Noah's Ark community service team - which supports children with life-threatening conditions - acquired land to establish a headquarters.

Mitch told NME.com: 'There is no children's hospice covering Camden, Islington, Enfield. That's where Amy lived and grew up. They've bought the land, we're gonna help them build it.'

The foundation will also fund several scholarships at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where Amy studied, and has made donations of £35,000 to both the New Horizons Youth Centre in Kings Cross and London-based charity Hopes and Dreams, which grants wishes for terminally ill children.

Additionally the charity has plans to help underprivileged children in New Orleans because Amy was so upset by the devastating hurricane which hit the US state in 2005.

Mitch said: 'I remember sitting with [Amy] when Hurricane Katrina happened in 2005, and she said, 'This is terrible, dad.' So I had a pretty good idea of what we were gonna do in the States.

'We're raising money to create an after-school music workshop in New Orleans, and we're working in conjunction with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Were gonna feed them and we're gonna create these after-school music clubs.'