Listen: the unheard Amy Winehouse demo recorded to attract record deals at 17

The late singer rose to fame in 2003
Tribute: Cang released the track to allow others to hear her talent
Getty Images
Safeeyah Kazi27 February 2018
The Weekender

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An unheard Amy Winehouse demo recorded by the star when she was just 17 has been released online.

The rare track was reportedly one of many recorded to attract record labels when Winehouse first started out in the industry,

Most of the sound bites had been destroyed after she passed away aged 27 in 2011 following a battle with alcoholism

However, composer Gil Cang has posted a snippet of the much-loved star's early work.

The song titled My Own Way, posted to Youtube, showcases Winehouse’s unique sound even at such a young age.

Winehouse first rose to fame on the back of album Frank in 2003, however, it was her second record, Back to Black, that catapulted her to global success in 2006.

She later went on to win five Grammy’s at the 2007 reprisal of the glitzy ceremony.

The singer started out from humble beginnings, speaking to the Camden New Journal at the time, Cang said: “We’d been writing quite a lot of pop tunes, doing a lot of pop promos with various artists who would come in, many of various, dubious talent.

Amy Winehouse - In pictures

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“It was at a particularly dire time in the pop world – lots of terrible, terrible girl bands and boy bands and we had to make something for them.

“Amy came in to see us, opened her mouth and just blew us all away. We were struck immediately by her talent – it was a real jaw on the floor moment. We were like wow, yes.”

Following Winehouse’s 2011 passing an album of B-sides and covers titled Lioness Hidden Treasures was released by Universal, however it faced criticism over the lack of morality.

Universal UK CEO David Joseph destroyed the rest of Amy's demos - telling the Guardian in 2015 that it ' was a moral thing.'

Speaking about his decision to upload the demo now, Cang revealed: “I’ve had it knocking about for so long. I found it again last week and thought - I’ll put it out there so people could hear it.”

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