Asif Kapadia’s documentary on Amy Winehouse, Amy, will be out this Friday, July 3rd, and it’ll likely lead the masses to a collective crying fit. Those who pine after more posthumous work from the musician will be especially sad after finding out what her label did to her last, recorded demos.
In a feature on the film in Billboard, it was revealed that UK/Universal Chairman/CEO David Joseph took it upon himself to destroy her last demos for her third album — he claims as an attempt to honor her artistry. He said:
It was a moral thing. Taking a stem or a vocal is not something that would ever happen on my watch. It now can’t happen on anyone else’s.
The film itself depicts Amy’s atrophy as a talented artist who made the soul and style of retro music popular once again in the Brit Pop sphere. In watching, viewers will surely feel a sense of loss from the woman who ironically gained fame from her own downfall — and from her keen ability to document it with shattering honesty in song.