'Can you give me a beehive?' The touching story behind Amy Winehouse’s signature hairstyle

I met Amy Winehouse connected her archetypal ever shoot, earlier the debut album, Frank. She was lone 17. We were astir Portobello Market with the lensman Phil Knott, and she was wearing trilbies and flared trousers and scarves astir her hair. Amy was conscionable this feisty, gorgeous, young voluptuous pistillate and I was like: ‘Wow, cheque her out.’

At the extremity of the day, we went backmost to Phil's studio. We were chatting successful the dressing room, and she goes ‘Oi, Trace — tin you springiness maine a beehive?’ I said ‘oh my god, beryllium down’, backcombed her hairsbreadth into this beehive and tied a small scarf that she had astir it. She loved her scarves erstwhile she was a teen and was truly into that cool, beatnik thing. I retrieve looking astatine Amy thinking: ‘This is her.’

We ran upstairs and I said: ‘Hey Phil, volition you instrumentality a photograph of Amy — look astatine her!’ He took 1 polaroid and gave it to me, past we finished disconnected and went connected with our mean lives. 

I didn’t enactment with Amy again until the Back to Black album. I got a telephone due to the fact that [Amy’s stylist] Louise Winwood had requested me, and Amy conscionable wanted loads of hair. We did the medium cover, past worked connected the video and the beehive was born. We called it the eighth wonderment of the world.

The beehive past conscionable carried connected done the remainder of her career. I retrieve seeing radical successful parks with beehives and reasoning ‘god this is simply a spot weird, but it’s a look!’ In 2008, Karl Lagerfeld adjacent did a flipping manner amusement with beehives. Apparently helium loved her.

The archetypal beehive was her ain hairsbreadth backcombed up into a bouffant, but thereafter we would marque it astir 1 large hairpiece which we called her hairsbreadth baby, and formal her fringe astir the front. It’s rather a delicate country due to the fact that Amy did endure from hairsbreadth loss, and that really transpired arsenic her vocation moved on. It was precise evident what was going connected with her. By the clip it got to [the album] Back to Black she had mislaid truthful overmuch hairsbreadth I was really rather shocked.

There were loads of astonishing moments I worked connected aft that. One of the biggest was the Nelson Mandela gig successful 2008, and Glastonbury that aforesaid year, erstwhile I enactment small cocktail umbrellas each astir her hair. The Grammys was different astonishing 1 arsenic good — she won five.

I was putting worldly distant 1 time and recovered 1 of Amy’s hairpieces from the You Know I’m No Good euphony video. I’ve kept each azygous hairpiece I’ve had passim my career, but I was rather freaked retired erstwhile I saw it. I americium putting it up for auction connected Friday due to the fact that I person a 12 and a fractional twelvemonth aged son. It’s going to alteration his future.

Amy and I had a truly beauteous relationship, I ever felt similar a large sister to her. Even 1 clip she called maine Mama. She would ever inquire for maine and determination were times I couldn’t beryllium there, I find it truly hard. It’s heartbreaking that she’s not around. In my mind, she’s faked her decease and is surviving successful the Caribbean somewhere.

As told to Joe Bromley. Amy Winehouse's You Know I'm No Good euphony video beehive hairpiece sold astatine auction connected Friday, 10 November 2023 for £18,750, propstoreauction.com