Amy Winehouse Leaves the Drama Behind for One Surprise Performance

By The Editors of Spinner Posted Oct 6th 2010 11:00PM

It's been quite some time since Amy Winehouse was in the headlines because of her music, but on Tuesday night, Oct. 5, the singer surprised patrons at her local pub in Camden, North London, by performing an unannounced six song set, reports the BBC.

Winehouse's past antics at the Hawley Arms in Camden have been well documented, but it was for the right reasons that she left an impression on Tuesday, appearing at monthly charity club night Apocalypstick and performing 'Tears Dry on Their Own,' her cover of the Specials' classic 'A Message to You, Rudy' and some new material.

Promoter Izzy Lawrence told the BBC's 6 Music that Winehouse wasn't on the bill and that she just turned up. "Amy just whispered to me, 'I know I'm not on the line up but do you mind if I play?' Obviously I wasn't going to say no and she got up and played and it was amazing."

'Tears Dry on Their Own'

The 100 attendees were apparently left stunned as Winehouse borrowed an acoustic guitar and took to the stage; commenting on her new songs, Lawrence said, "It sounds great -- it's quite upbeat, quite funky, very soulful. If those songs are going to be on the new album, it's going to be huge."

Back in July, Amy joined collaborator Mark Ronson onstage at his 100 Club show and last month she popped up at London's Jazz Cafe for another rendition of 'Valerie'. It's been four years since the 27-year-old's second album 'Back to Black' won five awards at the Grammys, and the intervening time has seen the star suffer divorce, drug and alcohol addiction. This latest news, however, appears to be a cautious step in the right direction.