Mark Ronson remembers Amy Winehouse during BRIT Award acceptance speech
mark ronson delivered an emotional tribute to Amy Winehouse as he accepted the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the 2026 BRIT Awards on 28 February. The 48-year-old producer used his moment on stage to recall the meeting that changed his career and to thank family and collaborators.
Mark Ronson recalled meeting Amy Winehouse at his New York studio
Standing on stage at London’s O2 Arena, the 48-year-old producer and musician told the packed room he had been thinking about the first time he met Winehouse, almost exactly 20 years earlier. He said he realised that Thursday, March 6 would mark 20 years to the day that Amy Winehouse had come up to his studio in New York City.
He relayed the moment she arrived: she went up the steps and said, 'I'm here to meet Mark Ronson. ' He replied, 'That's me. ' She then told him, 'I thought you were an old guy with a beard. ' He said they went upstairs, talked for four hours and that night wrote 'Back to Black', a meeting he described as the day that changed his life forever.
How their work led to the 2006 Back to Black album and Grammys
Ronson tied that four-hour conversation and late-night writing session directly to Winehouse’s 2006 album Back to Black. He noted that the collaboration produced one of the most acclaimed records of the 21st century, an album that won five Grammy Awards and helped define a new era of British soul.
He also reminded the audience that he produced several of the album’s key tracks, including the title song and the hit single 'Rehab'.
Tribute speech, montage and personal acknowledgements
The acceptance sequence was preceded by a star-studded video montage, and Ronson said the music he made with Winehouse remains at the heart of everything he has achieved since. He said, "I know it’s the music I made with Amy that’s the reason any of them know who I am anyway, " and added that he will always treasure her voice, her talent and their bond.
During his speech he thanked his wife Grace Gummer and their two young daughters. He also thanked artists he has worked with over the years, naming Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Queens of the Stone Age.
Reflections on songs in everyday life and the award's history
Ronson reflected that he still finds it surreal to hear his songs woven into everyday life — at weddings, on the street and in casual performances. He cited examples by name: hearing 'Uptown Funk' at a wedding and seeing someone busking 'Shallow' or 'Valerie' in the subway, and said he can't believe he has been lucky enough to be part of songs that mean something to people.
The BRITs’ Outstanding Contribution to Music award recognises artists who have made a lasting contribution to music. Ronson joins previous recipients including David Bowie, Elton John and Annie Lennox.
Additional page note and Amy Winehouse's death
The page carrying the report also included a line referencing "Flowers Miley Cyrus Download 'Flowers' on iTunes. "
Ronson and others spoke with the awareness of Winehouse’s early death: Amy Winehouse died in July 2011, aged 27, from alcohol poisoning, a fact Ronson and the tribute acknowledged as part of her legacy.
