Amy Winehouse Thinks She's A Boy

She looked like a lovely Jewish girl from North London — bushy black hair, big eyebrows and semi-stylin' clothes. That was 2003, when Amy Winehouse released her Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, Frank.

Since then, the sweet soul singer has transformed into an English vixen with trademark thick eyeliner, beehive bouffant, prominent tattoos and slim-fitted '60s-style dresses and skirts. Almost always wearing killer heels, consuming a drink (or five) and exuding attitude, Winehouse has total command of her image.

"Oh my god, I do everything myself," the singer/songwriter jokes. "I don't have time to do the shopping, but I do everything myself.

"I sew the clothes, I employ the kids in the sweatshops to make my trainers... sorry... no. My friend Naomi gets stuff for me. She's one of my best friends and knows exactly what I wear."

Although Winehouse possesses a femme fatale image and writes intimate lyrics about standing by her man and hoping for friendship after love, she insists that she's just a lad.

"I'm a real tomboy. I act like a boy. I think I'm a boy. I do things that only boys can do, really. Like, you know when you're a boy and you do really show-off-y things? I do that quite a lot and everyone's like, 'Uh Amy, you dickhead, why you being such an idiot?' I do things that that's not what a lady does."

So while Winehouse may still be working on the image, and her sometimes troubled personal life, one thing that's on a steady course is her music. After working with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson on her latest album, Back To Black, she's ecstatic about the results.

"When you're a musician, you strive to get what's in your head on a CD, and I think that when I made Frank I didn't have a very clear idea of what I wanted. I feel like I made up for it though because this album, I'm so proud of it. It's everything I wanted it to be and fucking more. I'm so lucky I got to work with the people I did."

Winehouse was very sober during our interview, which is apparently a rarity. She casually explains an incident at G.A.Y., the famous gay London, England club, in which she left the stage halfway through a song to throw up.

"The G.A.Y. thing was terrible. I had to get off a plane, go and have a laugh with my friend, be silly, have a drink and then go do that show. And obviously I couldn't."

What mostly came through during the chat, though, was Winehouse's humility and sweetness.

"I don't really like to think about my success, it's kind of scary," she says. "I'm just a little girl. It's cool, though. I'm a very lucky girl."

Here are Winehouse's Canadian dates:

May 12-13 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
Sept. 8 Toronto, ON @ Virgin Festival