Janis Winehouse, the mother of legend singer Amy Winehouse, who passed away in 2011, is to star on an interview set to be aired next this evening on One TV, during the show One Night Stand, hosted by Owen Bonnici.
Today, Janis tours the world, in an effort to keep her daughter's legacy alive, through the Amy Winehouse foundation - set to educate young people about the influence of drug and alcohol and misuse, and to provide support for those most helpless.
In addition, Janis still manages to find the time to meet with fans of Amy in Camden Town, London, where Amy resided. During her interview, Janis reveals that despite being a rebel, Amy still turned to her mother in her weakest, as well as valuable moments. When Amy won her first Grammy Award, the singer stepped down the stage, and hugged her mother, while she was heard saying "Mummy, what do I say, what do I say?"
"I remember the one time Janis asked for a particular recipe of a dish she loved. She called me up while she was making it," Janis said during the interview."It is interesting to hear about Amy from a mother's point of view, it provides you with a new insight of who Amy was, away from the limelight.
Amy suffered from an appalling self-esteem. She really had no idea of how good she was, or how inspiring she was to other musicians," Owen says, in comments to The Malta Independent on Sunday.Owen revealed he was impressed by how modest and approachable Janis is.
"You wouldn't guess she is the mother of a star," he says. "She came for the interview bearing photo albums with images of young Amy, as well as the singer's own notebook, on which she used to write and doodle on. I must admit, my hands were trembling holding that."The presenter himself is a fan of Amy Winehouse, and in fact, the programme's agenda often at times reflects his own personal interest, while still giving the audience what they're after. He even had tickets to one of her last shows, which was then cancelled after she passed on.
"I had discussed the idea of inviting Janis to the show with my production team earlier on in the year, but we deemed it impossible at the time. We tried to get through her through Amy's father, who even has his own management, but that failed. We then contacted Janis directly, and to our surprise, she replied back in the friendliest manner."Janis herself suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an unpredictable disease attacking the nervous system, and so the production made all the necessary arrangements to put her at ease during her trip. The condition also makes it difficult for patients to recall certain memories; however, this was not the case on the local show. Like other celebrity guests on the show, it was Janis's first time in Malta, and she had nothing but praise for our island.
Janis says that from a young age, she used to hum away tunes day and night, and her family used to tell her off when it got a bit too much. At a young age, the singer auditioned for a part in Annie- The Musical, but when she was rejected, she was very much let down.When Amy's fame started growing, Janis started finding it difficult to get to her daughter, with all the press and management in the way, even when things got rough.
When Janis and her then fiancée visited Amy at St Lucia's rehab, they advised her they would be getting married in September of 2011 to that, Amy told her mother she would not be there in September. At the time, Janis thought Amy had decided so to avoid being followed by the press, but perhaps deep down, Amy knew she would not be able to live that long.
Tune in to One TV to watch Janis's full interview on One Night Stand, today at 9.30pm.