Mark Ronson paid tribute to Amy Winehouse during his first performance since the star’s funeral in Greenwich, London two nights ago.
Ronson, dressed entirely in black, opened the show by saying ‘It’s been a shit week but being here making music makes it all OK’ before launching an acoustic performance of ‘Valerie’ with Dave McCabe of The Zutons, who originally wrote the track which Winehouse made famous. ‘I remember five years ago Amy brought this song to me and said “I wanna sing that,”‘ Ronson reminisced.
Winehouse’s presence hung over the entire evening and Ronson was visibly upset. He cut short his usual mid-show DJ set, saying ‘The only thing I want to hear right now is this’, before playing ‘Rehab’ in full. ‘I went to the service yesterday and the rabbi said that a person is measured in deeds not years, which was the best thing I heard all day,’ he remarked. ‘She made more amazing music than I’ll make in my entire life.’
Both encores were dedicated to the recently-deceased singer, with Ronson-produced band The Rumble Strips performing their lauded cover of ‘Back To Black’ (‘This is the one time she looked at me and said “Shit, it’s better than ours, isn’t it?”‘) and a crowd sing-a-long of the Versions-era ‘Valerie’, complete with former backing singers and players from Winehouse’s studio band.
‘Amy once said that I was like the sister she never wanted,’ said Ronson in closing, ‘And I am her sister, wherever she is right now. Thanks for turning what could have been a miserable fucking evening into something really special.’
Image by: Matt Cardy via Getty
