AMY Winehouse was undoubtedly the queen of Camden in the mid-Noughties. A fixture at the Hawley Arms and The Good Mixer, if you went for a pint at one of those pubs there was a high chance you’d see her.

I was lucky enough to meet her several times, once spending an entire, mad and magical night with her at the height of her fame: something I will simply never forget.

Journalist Jess Barrett spent an unforgettable evening with Amy Winehouse after a chance meeting at a London Fashion Week party in 2008 Credit: Supplied

Amy Winehouse became one of Britain’s most iconic performers, but those closest to her watched her personal struggles deepen behind the scenes Credit: Getty

When things turned inevitably darker and more challenging for the star, Camden was still her safe haven. Her flat became a shrine to the singer following her devastating death in 2011, from alcohol poisoning, aged 27.

Fifteen years on, I have found myself thinking a lot about Amy Winehouse, the 5ft 2 singer who defined pop culture in a relatively short space of time.

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I was employed by a London newspaper fresh out of university, writing a column about London nightlife. If there was a festival, art gallery opening, or party, I’d be dispatched to report on it.

It was a dream job for someone in their early twenties, and at that time there was a real buzz in London, with stars like Lily Allen, Kate Moss, Peaches Geldof, Johnny Borrell and Sadie Frost regular fixtures at events every night of the week.

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I’d often go to the Hawley or the Good Mixer to meet friends when I wasn’t working; I distinctly remember the first night I ever saw Amy Winehouse.

You’d feel her presence (or hear her distinctive voice) before you saw her, and when you did, it was always memorable: a tiny goddess, her hair reaching to the sky, often tied with a bandana, her tattoos peeking out from polo shirts or tank tops.

Amy had become well known following the release of her debut album Frank, but it was after the release of Back to Black in 2006 that her fame exploded – and her sad decline had already begun.

The album centred around her on-off relationship with production assistant Blake Fielder-Civil. It became the best-selling album in the UK the following year, selling around 1.85m copies, propelling Amy into the kind of fame that she – and no one – could be ready for.

Blake gave his first interview on the We Need To Talk podcast with Paul C Brunson last month. During the interview, Blake admitted that he and Amy became addicts ‘together’.

He explained, “The heroin was something, as I said, that I tried, let’s say ten times, smoked it over a period of six months with some friends. That’s where I was at with that. But yeah, the first time she did it was with me, and it was probably my sixth time.”

The pair had reconciled around the first time I met Amy at the Hawley Arms, which was just before they got married in Miami in May that year, 2007.

She was pulling pints behind the bar, smoking fags, hugging regulars and laughing her biggest laugh.

She greeted me with a huge smile, making me feel completely welcome even though we’d never met.

In the following year, the glare of attention on Amy became even stronger. I remember drama playing out between Amy and Blake via front pages, with images of the singer with black eye make-up running down her face, bruises on her neck and blood on her ballet flats going an early version of ‘viral’ when they were shared by gossip blogger Perez Hilton.

Gripped at this point by alcoholism and drug addiction, Amy was also continuing to perform – something which has later been called into question by those wondering if Amy’s father and manager, Mick Winehouse, was pushing her too hard when she needed professional help (a sentiment which was echoed by the 2015 documentary Amy).

Mitch, however, denies this. There didn’t seem to be much of an ‘inner circle’, her love for Blake had isolated her from many of her friends, although best friend Tyler James was still in the picture.

In February 2008, Amy marched into a fashion week party at a private members club where I was with friends.

She had recently won five Grammys (although she couldn’t attend because of visa issues) for Back to Black, following a stint in rehab. I remember being struck by how much smaller she seemed than the previous times I had seen her – and by the fact she was completely on her own.

A few minutes later, I was in the toilets, and Amy swept in. She stopped in her tracks, and looked at my earrings: huge, engraved, fake gold earrings I’d bought that day. ‘I love those earrings!’ she cried, asking to have a look at them. ‘They are so fucking cool.’

Without even thinking, I took them off and told her she could have them. “No, I couldn’t take them from you,’ she insisted. “They were £3.99 from H&M,” I said. “It’s no big deal!”

There was something so sweet and childlike about Amy; in that moment I felt so drawn to her, wanting to make her happy.

She asked me to sit on the floor with her. “I need to give you something, in return to make it fair,” she said, before asking everyone in the toilet if they had a pen and paper, before telling me she was going to write me a letter.

“I’ll give you one of my dresses in exchange,” she said. “No, I know! Tickets to my next show, you can come, can’t you?” I readily agreed. “I.O.U,” she wrote.

“Two tickets for a show of your choice. Love ya, Amy Winehouse.” I kept that note, of course, it’s stored safely at my parents’ house.

Amy’s turbulent relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil inspired Back to Black and remained at the heart of her story until the couple divorced in 2009 Credit: Getty – Contributor

Amy continued performing despite her well-documented struggles before her tragic death from alcohol poisoning in July 2011, aged just 27 Credit: Getty

She was so grateful, and seemed so in need of connection and support, she clung to me that evening. I remember her being so small that the crowd often threatened to sweep her away.

Amy tried to greet everyone who wanted to talk to her, and was polite and friendly, despite her obviously very fragile, vulnerable state – she seemed to crave love. It was just a few months later that Amy would leave the UK for St Lucia, where she attempted to get clean whilst writing new music.

The following year her marriage to Blake ended. I saw her at a gig in Camden shortly after her split from Blake. I don’t think she ended up performing that night – her deterioration shocked me.

Her hair was short and unkempt, no beehive in sight, and she was achingly thin. She stopped and spoke to me, and remembered our night together. She apologised for not being able to chat longer. Two years later she was dead.

Could more have been done to save Amy Winehouse? It’s hard to say.

The woman I met over the years was like a broken bird, there was a sadness in those years before her death, following her split from Blake that seemed incurable.

But she was a powerhouse, an unrivalled talent, and so much fun. I feel genuinely lucky to have known her at all for even the shortest time.