Who is Mitch Winehouse? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In December

Age: 74 Years, 74 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Janis Winehouse (m. 1976 – 1993)

father: Alec Winehouse

mother: Cynthia Winehouse

children: Alex, Amy

Born Country: England

Family Members British Men

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Childhood & Early Life

Mitch was born in 1950 in Stoke Newington, London, England. His parents were Alec and Cynthia Winehouse. Mitch grew up in a flat above a barber shop on Commercial Street. Cynthia was a singer and she was once in a relationship with the English jazz saxophonist Ronnie Scott. The family was never strongly religious. Winehouse once said on the subject, “Being Jewish to me is about being together as a real family... It’s not about lighting candles and saying a Bracha.”

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Career

As an adult, one of the earliest jobs Mitch did was as a window panel installer. In later years, he started driving a taxi in London. Mitch inherited at least part of his mother’s gift for singing and he, in turn, passed it on to Amy Winehouse. Mitch released his first album, ‘Rush of Love’, on June 6, 2010, through Janey Records. Amy was still alive at the time. The album is comprised of 11 songs: ‘Please Be Kind’, ‘How Insensitive’, ‘Rush of Love to the Heart’, ‘Tell Me’, ‘Day by Day’, ‘I Apologize’, ‘Nights’, ‘Close Your Eyes’, ‘No More Broken Hearts’, ‘You Go to My Head’, and ‘April In Paris’.

On October 20, 2014, he put out his second and the most recent album to date through Metropolis Music Management Ltd. Titled ‘But Beautiful’, it contains 13 songs: the title track, ‘Suit & Tie’, ‘The Nearness of You’, ‘Learning the Blues’, ‘Once I Loved’, ‘Never Too Far from a Song’, I’m a Fool to Want You’, ‘Please Baby Don’t’, ‘Only the Lonely’, ‘Wave’, ‘Goodbye’, ‘Meditation’, and ‘We’ll Be Together’.

Family & Personal Life

Mitch Winehouse married pharmacist Janis Seaton in 1976. Janis hails from a musical family as well. Several of her brothers are professional jazz musicians. In 1979, Janis gave birth to their eldest child and only son, Alex. Amy Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983.

About 18 months after Winehouse’s birth, Mitch developed an attraction to Jane, who was his colleague at the time. They began a passionate relationship two years later. His family was apparently aware of it and Amy and her brother used to call Jane “daddy’s work wife”. When Amy was ten years old, Mitch finally left their home and moved in with Jane. He divorced Janis in 1993. Three years later, on June 17, 1996, he married Jane.

According to Mitch, while Amy did not react negatively to his departure, she did become more independent. Furthermore, she used music to express her anger towards him. In her 2003 song ‘What Is It About Men’, she voiced her disapproval of her father’s behaviour with the line, “All the shit my mother went through".

Mitch has been repeatedly accused of making money off his daughter’s fame. He reportedly encouraged her to perform live when she was in no condition to do so. He also stated that Amy did not need to go to a rehab. She was unarguably one of the most talented singers of her generation but in her private life, she suffered her own issues with mental illness and substance abuse. In 2007, she was taken to a hospital for reportedly overdosing on heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol. Following this, Mitch made several public statements about her that drew widespread criticism. However, he later stated that he did it because it was probably the only way for him to reach out to her and make her listen. Amy Winehouse passed away on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27. The cause of her death was officially ruled to be alcohol poisoning.

In 2015, the documentary film ‘Amy’ was released. Directed by Asif Kapadia, it won Best Music Film at the 58th Grammy Awards and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 88th Academy Awards. While Mitch appeared in the film, he later criticised it, remarking that it was a “negative, spiteful, and misleading” portrayal of his daughter. In October 2017, it was reported that he was involved in the production of a West End musical on Amy Winehouse’s life.

Mitch Winehouse Biography