Family, friends say goodbye to Winehouse

LONDON — Mitch Winehouse said "good night, my angel, sleep tight" to his daughter, singer Amy Winehouse, at the conclusion of a memorial service for the late singer Tuesday in London.

The service, which included prayers in English and Hebrew, as well as Mitch Winehouse's eulogy, ended with a rendition of the Carole King song, "So Far Away."

"Mitch was funny, he told some great stories from childhood about how headstrong she was, and clearly the family and friends recognized the stories and laughed along," family spokesman Chris Goodman said. "He stressed so many times she was happier now than she had ever been and he spoke about her boyfriend and paid tribute to a lot of people in her life."

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Mitch Winehouse told mourners that his late daughter had recently found love and had beaten her drug dependency three years before her death, but he admitted she was still struggling to control her drinking after several weeks of abstinence.

"She said, 'Dad I've had enough of drinking, I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces anymore.'" Mitch Winehouse said.

He said Amy had been playing her drums and singing in the home the night before her death.

"But knowing she wasn't depressed, knowing she passed away, knowing she passed away happy, it makes us all feel better," he said, adding that he hopes to set up an Amy Winehouse Foundation that would help people beat substance abuse.

Family friend Alfie Ezekiel, 55, said the service had been a "joyful" celebration of the singer's life.

"Mitch gave a very good eulogy and he managed to get through it very well, considering," he said.

Among the guests at the service were stylist Alex Foden, who has been credited with creating Winehouse's trademark beehive hairdo, producer Mark Ronson and singer Kelly Osbourne, who wore her hair in a beehive style in honor of the late singer.

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Photographers and a few fans lined the lane outside the Edgwarebury Cemetery, where the service was held. After the service, which was led by Rabbi Frank Hellner, Winehouse's body was taken to Golders Green Crematorium.

Several mourners, including Ronson — who co-produced Winehouse's breakthrough album "Back to Black" — looked emotional as they left the red brick structure, which has seen the cremations of thousands of ordinary Londoners and many celebrities, including psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, comedian Peter Sellers and drummer Keith Moon of The Who.

The family was then due to hold two days of shiva, a Jewish traditional period of mourning.

The soul diva, who had battled alcohol and drug addiction, was found dead Saturday at her London home. She was 27.

An autopsy held Monday failed to determine the cause of the singer's death. Police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, which will take two to four weeks.

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On Monday the singer's father, mother and brother visited the house where she died, thanking mourners who had left flowers and cards.

Mitch Winehouse said "Amy was about one thing and that was love."

"Her whole life was devoted to her family and her friends and to you guys as well," he told fans.

Winehouse released only two albums in her short career — winning five Grammy awards for the second, "Back to Black" — and often made headlines because of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, destructive relationships and abortive performances.

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Since her death, her records have re-entered album charts around the world, and tributes have poured in from fans and fellow musicians.

George Michael called her "the most soulful vocalist this country has ever seen," and soul singer Adele said she "paved the way for artists like me and made people excited about British music again."

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