THE DEATH OF AMY WINEHOUSE

Much that has been written and said following the death of Amy Winehouse has rightly cited her "unfulfilled potential". But at just 27, the Londoner had already proved herself to be one the most talented singer-songwriters Britain has ever produced. Collecting five Grammys, three Ivor Novello Awards and one Brit, and posting eight-figure sales over the course of just two albums, she was also firmly established as one of the most successful.

Amy Jade Winehouse was born Southgate, north London on September 14, 1983 to father Mitch, then a double-glazing salesman, and mother Janis, a pharmacist. Although Amy claied to have listened to Madonna's Immaculate Collection every day for four years until discovering hip hop at 11, she also fostered a profound love of jazz from an early age - thanks to her father's heavy rotation of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington on the family's home stereo, and the influence of her uncles who were professional jazz players. Music wasn't Amy's first ambition though; inspired by scenes from George Lucas' 1973 movie American Graffiti, she originally planned to become a roller-skating waitress.

Often in trouble at school for singing in lessons, Amy decided to find a place of learning where her talents would be more appreciated so, aged 12, she organised an audition for herself at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. She spent three years there before being asked to leave because, although bright, she was disrupting lessons and was not achieving acceptable grades. Her new nose piercing was also deemed to be against school policy.

Despite eventually spending some time at the Brit school in Croydon, the singer's significant break came at 16, when her friend, soul hopeful Tyler James, gave his A&R manager a tape of Winehouse singing. Soon after, she signed a management deal with Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment before picking up a record deal with Island/Universal (she later left 19, signing up her live agent, Raye Cosbert from Metropolis Music, as her manager in 2006).

A few weeks after her 20th birthday, Winehouse released her Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, the jazz-infused Frank. It peaked at Number 13 on the UK charts but eventually recorded triple-platinum sales. All the original material was co-written by Winehouse, and the track Stronger Than Me won her and producer Salaam Remi the 2004 Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song.

In 2006 Winehouse followed her debut with Back To Black - heralded by the brilliant but tragically prescient single Rehab. With production shared between Remi and Mark Ronson, the 12 brisk tracks skilfully indulged Winehouse's love of soul, RnB and '60s girl groups. The record sold well past 10 million copies, including close to three million in the the US, and earned her a record-breaking five Grammy Awards, alongside Q's 2007 Album Of The Year. The sound and emotional power found within also re-ignited the UK's love of soul and opened a path for British female solo singers to make an international impact. The successes of Adele, Duffy and Florence + The Machine can all, in large parts, be traced back to the impact of Back To Black.

Only last year, Jay-Z told the BBC that he believed Winehouse had re-invigorated British music. "There's a strong push coming out of London right now which is great," he said. "It's been coming ever since I guess Amy. I mean always, but I think this resurgence was ushered in by Amy. [I'm] just praying she doesn't turn into Lauryn Hill and we never get another album."

By then, the rappers fears were well-founded. Much of the confessional lyrics on Back To Black channeled Winehouse's heartache, following a break-up with boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil. "I didn't want to just wake up drinking, and crying, and listening to Shangri-Las, and go to sleep, and wake up drinking, and listening to the Shangri-Las," she told the LA Times in 2007."So I turned it into songs, and that's how I got through it."

However soon life began to overwhelm Amy Winehouse. Her struggles with addiction and illness have been well documented, as has her difficult marriage to - and eventual divorce from - Fielder-Civil.

Last week, the singer's father offered hope that she might be on the mend, telling the New York Times: "She's a great kid and she's going through some rough stuff at the moment, but the last few weeks she's been absolutely fantastic." Just three days before her death, Amy was well enough to return to the stage, briefly appearing with Bromfield at the iTunes Festival at London's Roundhouse.

Tragically, on Saturday, July 23, Metropolitan Police confirmed that the singer had been found dead in her Camden home that afternoon. As yet, the circumstances remain unexplained - with Superintendent Raj Kohli saying, "It would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of death."

British music mourns the passing of one of its most unique and gifted talents.

Here's EQ's favourite Amy moment;

R.I.P Amy