Amy Jade Winehouse was born on 14 September 1983 in London. She died on 23 July 2011, aged 27. In those 27 years, she packed a full life and she made darn good music. During her short career, Winehouse picked up something like 23 awards, six of which were Grammys.
On 26 February 2025, the Misery Loves Company paid tribute to this little pocket rocket at the Mandela Bay Arts Festival. Theirs was a simple, no frills show focusing on the music, with a solid narrative element that shed light on the troubled life of Winehouse.
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Winehouse was a tiny person, but larger than life. Her unbelievable musical career was eclipsed only by the scandals that followed her wherever she went.
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Kerry Hiles, bassist and lead vocalist for this show, sang the Winehouse songs and shared snippets of biographical information. At times, she quoted Winehouse in a pretty decent working-class London accent.
Winehouse was a tiny person, but larger than life. Her unbelievable musical career was eclipsed only by the scandals that followed her wherever she went. Wednesday night’s show certainly alluded to the scandals, but it remained a musical tribute.
While Hiles wore wigs resembling Winehouse and often spoke like Winehouse, she never tried to sing quite like Winehouse. Hiles sang like Hiles. The group made each song their own; each one was clearly arranged to work for the trio.
Hiles has a wonderful voice, and she plays the bass while she sings. On the odd occasion, she even accompanied herself by playing the tune on the bass.
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She changed clothes, put on extra head pieces, did her make-up and acted a little drunk at times, but never tried to be anyone other than Hiles playing Winehouse. This was a tribute, not an act.
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She changed clothes, put on extra head pieces, did her make-up and acted a little drunk at times, but never tried to be anyone other than Hiles playing Winehouse. This was a tribute, not an act.
Rob Thompson played guitar. While he did do the odd solo, his role was understated, supporting Hiles doing Winehouse. People who know a lot more about guitar playing than I do say he is good. I can only agree.
Kristo Zondagh is the third member of the group. He is a brilliant drummer and percussionist. On Sunday, I saw him in another show where he was the lead vocalist, while the drum kit and xylophone formed the focal point of that show. On Wednesday night, Zondagh took a back seat, doing only one solo. It is a pleasure to see how he produces sound, swapping drumsticks for mallets, or scratching the back of the cymbal with his drumstick. Zondagh was on backing vocals too; at times he even produced a solid falsetto to back Hiles.
And then there was the suitcase. During two of the songs, Zondagh did percussion on a suitcase. Yip. One suitcase. Two steel brushes. Or only his two hands, nothing else.
I like jazz and I enjoyed the saxophone’s flutter-tonguing on Winehouse’s debut album Frank. Winehouse could scat as well. We did not get any of that on Wednesday night. Instead, we got the Misery Loves Company doing what they do best. They made us rethink each of the songs, doing their version of Winehouse.
In 2023, the group won a Standard Bank Ovation Award for Amy Winehouse: The diva and her demons. This was not their first. In 2021, they also won a Standard Bank Ovation Award for a similar show called The story of Eva Cassidy.
Misery Loves Company are good musicians. Very good. On Wednesday, they paid a unique musical tribute to a once very bright star. As Hiles said: “The demons killed Winehouse, but the diva lives on.”
- Photography: Izak de Vries
See also:
Mandela Bay Arts Festival: ’n resensie van Jou ma se ... platespeler
The tyrant by Xabiso Zweni at the Mandela Bay Arts Festival: A review