“Back to Black” was inspired by her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil. He had left Winehouse for an ex-girlfriend, leaving her going to “black,” which the listener may take to be drinking and depression. “Black” has sometimes been considered as a reference to heroin, but this is inaccurate as Winehouse’s heroin use did not begin until after her later marriage to Fielder-Civil (May 2007), as confirmed in the Asif Kapadia documentary.
Back to Black entered the Billboard Hot 100 album chart at #7, making Winehouse the highest debuting British female artist in the history of the US albums chart. The previous British female to achieve that honor was Lily Allen, who a few weeks previously had entered the American album chart at #20 with her debut album Alright, Still. Two weeks later the English white soul singer Joss Stone beat Winehouse’s record when her Introducing… Joss Stone album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #2.
Back to Black won both the Q Award and the MTV Europe Music Award for the 2007 Album of the Year. It was the biggest-selling album of 2007 worldwide, selling over 5.5 million copies. The runner-up was the soundtrack for High School Musical 2, with sales of just over 4.7 million copies. Back to Black also sold 1.85 million copies, including 265,000 sales of a recent deluxe version of the LP, in Winehouse’s native UK, making it Britain’s best-selling album of 2007.
The music video was directed by Phil Griffin and features a funeral procession in which Winehouse mourns over a grave that reads “R.I.P. the Heart of Amy Winehouse”. The shot of the headstone was edited out after the singer’s death in 2011. The video was primarily shot near Gibson Gardens and Chesholm Road in Stoke Newington, London. The graveyard scenes were filmed at Abney Park Cemetery in northeast London. According to the official Winehouse website, “Amy’s sultry new video for Back in Black [sic] is both beautifully and artistically shot in black-and-white and compares in imagery a doomed love affair with that of a funeral.”[23] At the 2007 Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO), the music video was nominated for Best Video but lost to Kanye West’s “Stronger” (2007).[24][25] Myers of the Official Charts Company deemed the clip “super-sad” and felt it went further on the song’s main theme of goodbye.
“Back to Black” – Single by Amy Winehouse from the album Back to Black
Released 26 April 2007
Songwriters Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson
Producer Mark Ronson
Charted No.25 UK; No.1 Greece; No.3 Austria; No.12 Belgium; No.8 Germany; No.12 Italy.
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black
Movie ∙ Documentary ∙ 2018
BACK TO BLACK tells the real story of how Amy’s best known and most celebrated body of work came into being. Featuring previously unseen footage of Amy in the studio, new interviews with producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, and the musicians who worked with Amy on the album, it offers fresh insights into Amy’s remarkable gifts as a singer, songwriter, musician and performer. Also includes AN INTIMATE EVENING IN LONDON, footage from a private show Amy hosted in February 2008, which has never been seen – until now. Amy’s performance sees her in fine form, relaxed and playing for family and friends on the evening she won five Grammy® awards.
