Family remembers tragic Winehouse (From St Helens Star)

Family remembers tragic Winehouse

11:55am Monday 23rd July 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

Amy Winehouse's family said they will be thinking of "a daughter and sister that meant the world to them" as they mark the first anniversary of the singer's death.

And they said they were still "struggling to come to terms" with her death a year on.

The singer was found dead from alcohol poisoning in her north London home on July 23 last year at the age of 27.

In a message from her family, posted to the website set up in her name, they said: "To mark the event, the family will be spending the day together, remembering a daughter and sister that meant the world to them.

"Whilst the world remembers a gifted artist who was taken from us all at a ridiculously young age, we will be thinking of a person who gave so much, and in turn was given so much, by a family still struggling to come to terms with the fact that, where there should be four, there is only three."

They thanked fans for their sympathy and support over the past year and said they hoped "we have been able to contribute to a positive legacy in Amy's name".

New figures showed Winehouse sold more than 1.2 million copies of her three albums in the UK during the 12 months following her death. In addition she sold half a million copies of her singles, according to the Official Charts Company.

Her two studio albums - 2003's Frank and 2006's Back To Black - both saw a noticeable jump in sales following her death, with her debut, Frank, peaking at number three in the charts in August last year.

Back To Black rocketed back to the top of the album chart a week after she died. It briefly became the biggest selling album of the 21st century, with cumulative sales of almost 3.5 million, although it was superseded by Adele's 21.

Her posthumous release Lioness: Hidden Treasures went to number one when it was released in December.