‘I’m actually going back to moments in time’: Amy Winehouse bassist says Marisa Abela’s portrayal of the late singer in biopic Back To Black is astounding
Marisa Abela, who plays Amy Winehouse in Back To Black, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming biopic about the late singer, has captivated her to the core, according to Winehouse bassist Dale Davis.
“There are certain moments when I look at Marisa and I’m reminded of Amy, especially in the makeup and sometimes when she talks,” she tells me.
“In fact, they transport me to moments in time. It’s quite evocative in that sense.
Davis performed with Winehouse’s band at QT in the Middle Eight at London’s Covent Garden this week.
The bassist worked with Amy for eight months after the success of her album, Back To Black.
Uncanny: Marisa Abela, who plays Amy Winehouse in Back To Black, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming biopic about the late singer, has captured her down to the last detail, says Amy’s bassist.
Biopic: Sources on the set of Back To Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and named after Winehouse’s 2006 hit album, say filming should last 10 weeks (pictured in 2007)
In 2017, Dale revealed that he spoke to her three hours before she tragically went to bed for the last time, and Amy died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27 in 2011.
told him earlier music radar: ‘She was incredibly talented and very easy to work with, but we all know the story went wrong.
“It was difficult to go on stage during the last two or three years of his life, but I always lived in the hope that he would recover.
“In the end, I was tired and had given it my all.”
Marisa has been photographed on set for the past few weeks filming the new biopic.
Amy’s father, Mitch Winehouse, recently defended the controversial casting choice for the new biopic, after many claimed that Marisa and Amy don’t look close enough.
Mick takes issue with the backlash when he shared this week that Marisa is a “great choice,” admitting that it doesn’t matter if they “don’t look exactly alike.”
chatting with TMz On the new pitch about his daughter, Mitch said: ‘Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy… so it’s not a big deal if they’re not mirror images.
“Marisa is a great choice for the role.”
He went on to say that Eddie Marsan, who plays Mitch, doesn’t exactly look like him either, noting, “There’s too much emphasis on looks.
The Band: The bassist worked with Amy for eight months after the success of her album, Back To Black.
“Because there are so many examples in Hollywood of actors who don’t look like their real-life character.”
Amy’s friends are also furious with the creators of the biopic for not asking them about the star’s life, saying executives working at Back To Black have not contacted them about their memories of the late singer, raising fears that the film will be inaccurate.
Even though it’s been nearly 12 years since Winehouse was found unconscious at her home in Camden, north London, in July 2011, her heartbroken friends still believe it’s too early to make such a film.
Sources on the set of Back To Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and named after Winehouse’s hit 2006 album, say filming is due to last 10 weeks.
A source said: “It all feels very fast, almost a bit of a smash and grab.”
Many also doubted the film would be made in its entirety, accusing the project of “exploiting the singer’s legacy” and “capitalizing on her trauma”, with some calling on people to “just put her to rest”.
“There are certain moments when I look at Marisa and I’m reminded of Amy, especially in the makeup and sometimes when she talks,” says Davis (center of photo).