North London Food & Culture

Review: Amy Winehouse birthday singalong at Gilgamesh

A chaotic karaoke fundraiser plus some new street art as #Amys30 month takes over Camden

It’s certainly not every day you witness TV’s Jon Snow belting out Blur’s Parklife, or indeed find yourself standing next to Mitch Winehouse as a room full of people sing happy birthday to his tragically absent daughter. But Friday night at Camden Town mega-restaurant Gilgamesh – where both these odd things occurred in quick succession – was all about fundraising, so the usual rules don’t apply.

Safe in the knowledge that nobody can criticize or mock your performance if it’s all in the name of charity, a shamelessly uncool group karaoke event (the ultimate football crowd-style guilty pleasure) had been scheduled. The reason? To swell the coffers and thereby further the great work being done by the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

Pro crooners like David McAlmont, Mica Paris and Amy’s god daughter Dionne Bromfield all performed a turn. But when singing is what you do for a living, getting up on stage doesn’t really require balls.


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Therefore it was Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow who easily stole the show. His distinctive, well-enunciated voice proved a perfect alternative for Blur’s famous cockney geeza vocal lines, and he positively bounced around while roaring Manfred Mann’s Do Wah Diddy once into his stride (see video for both numbers).

On leaving the stage, Snow was mobbed by fans wanting pictures or throwing him a high five. Meanwhile hosts Jamie East, Amy Lamé and Camden’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Mayor™ Jonathan Simpson continued to lead the increasingly raucous proceedings.

The hardcore Amy fans, assorted Camdenites and excitable out-of-towners mostly lapped it up, regardless of the air of disorganisation, including a few notable no-shows from promised celeb performers such as Mutya Buena.

But the party poppers and whistles? Hmm. It’s difficult not to feel a touch uneasy when being asked to cheer in midnight and the never-reached birthday of a musical icon barely two years after her untimely death.

The #Amys30 activity this month has already been hugely successful in keeping the momentum and awareness about the important work of the charity, but a karaoke birthday party singsong was always a curious choice to mark this date. Still, it raised lots of money, made lots of people happy and got the tweeters using the (equally unsettling) hashtag to spread the good word, which is mission accomplished.

As substance abuse sage Professor David Nutt rightly told us when he lectured in K-Town recently, the wider media missed an opportunity with Amy’s death to highlight the increased dangers of alcohol abuse after time in rehab.

The Foundation is doing that job and plenty more, turning the Winehouse family’s tragedy into all kinds of positive action and awareness. As Mitch took to the stage to sing one of his soulful covers, the power of his daughter’s legacy is what shouted loudest of all.

If all the party ‘celebrations’ were a little off the mark, well, it’s for charity. The usual rule don’t apply.

Next page: a gallery of brand new Amy street art in Camden


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