A hologram of Amy Winehouse is set for a worldwide tour in 2019. A projection of the late singer will “perform” digitally remastered arrangements of her songs, backed by a live band, singers and what the production company Base Hologram calls “theatrical stagecraft”.
Winehouse’s father, Mitch, described the endeavour as a dream. “To see her perform again is something special that really can’t be put into words,” he said. “Our daughter’s music touched the lives of millions of people and it means everything that her legacy will continue in this innovative and groundbreaking way.”
Mitch Winehouse said the tour will raise money and awareness for the Amy Winehouse Foundation. The charity educates young people about drug and alcohol misuse, provides support for those at risk and supports the development of disadvantaged young people through music.
The show is expected to last 75 to 110 minutes.
The Winehouse tour is Base Hologram’s third such project. Productions featuring Roy Orbison and the opera singer Maria Callas are currently playing. Since 2012, when a hologram of Tupac appeared at the Coachella festival in California, the technology has become increasingly common.
A hologram of Billie Holliday performs daily 40-minute shows at the Hologram USA Theater in Los Angeles. A similar tour featuring the likeness of Whitney Houston was scrapped in 2017 after her estate said the technology was not ready. Other tours are planned featuring the metal musician Ronnie James Dio and Frank Zappa.
Abba have said they will use the technology as part of a new “virtual experience” expected to debut next year. Abba’s Benny Andersson said in 2016: “We’re inspired by the limitless possibilities of what the future holds and are loving being a part of creating something new and dramatic here. A time machine that captures the essence of who we were. And are.”
Winehouse’s last performance was at the Tuborg festival in Belgrade on 18 June 2011. The chaotic set, in which Winehouse slurred lyrics and forgot the names of her band members, led to the cancellation of a European tour. She was found dead at her home in Camden, north London, on 23 July 2011.
A new documentary, Amy Winehouse – Back to Black, will be released in November. It includes “previously unseen footage of Amy” and new interviews with her collaborators Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi.
