21 November 2012
Newsdesk
Friends, family and fans of the late Amy Winehouse gathered with guests at The Dorchester in London last night to celebrate the life of the late singer and the brilliant work that the Amy Winehouse Foundation has carried out since its launch on 14th September 2011.
Mark Ronson, Tyler James, Ronnie Wood, Barbara Windsor, Jade Jagger, Paloma Faith and more joined Mitch Winehouse and family at the first major fundraising event for the charity.
After a champagne reception, guests enjoyed a dinner and live auction as well as performances from Mica Paris, the X Factor's Ella Henderson, Matt Goss, Jamie Cullum and Tyler James.
A video showing some of the young people helped by the Foundation brought the room back down to earth. Jon Snow, Channel 4 News presenter and patron of both the New Horizons Youth Centre, (a project supported by the Foundation) and the Foundation itself, gave a speech praising the charity's remarkable progress during its first 14 months and remarked, "Amy has bequeathed a father who has found what he is really good at."
The auction saw furious bidding on some great lots, raising almost £55,000 for projects supported by the Foundation. A signed Ronnie Wood guitar went to a lucky bidder for £10,250 after Ronnie himself tried to buy it back for £9000. Amy's friend and producer, Mark Ronson, bid on a piece of artwork of Amy that eventually went elsewhere for £11000.
