Celebrity Mound

Soul singer Amy Winehouse has developed the lung condition emphysema and has been warned by doctors that she will die if she continues smoking drugs, her father said in an interview on Sunday.

Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leaves sufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughter had series of health checks in hospital.

“The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won’t just ruin her voice, it will kill her,” he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. “The doctors have said that if she had continued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid — she wouldn’t have been able to breathe.”

He added: “She’s got emphysema. It’s in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask on her face struggling to breathe.

“With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes, her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She’s got 70 percent lung capacity.”

He added that a spell in hospital last week and renewed treatment for her well-publicized drug addiction had offered a ray of hope for his 24-year-old daughter.

“If she doesn’t go back to drugs, then she can lead this magnificent life,” he said. “We are praying that that’s what Amy really wants. She seems resolute.”

He called on drug dealers to help her recovery by refusing to supply her with crack cocaine.

There is no medical reason why she shouldn’t be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival next weekend, he added. In the past, work has helped to keep her away from drugs.

“If she hadn’t done recent shows in Moscow and Portugal she could have been dead by now,” he said. “She abstains and regulates her drug use when she has to do a show.”

Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in February and enjoyed commercial success with her album “Back to Black.”

Singer Amy Winehouse has been taken to hospital for tests after fainting in London, her spokesman has confirmed.
She was “doing admin” when she became unwell at her home on Monday afternoon but “quickly recovered”, he added.

Her manager’s assistant was able to stop her falling and Winehouse’s father, Mitch, escorted her to hospital “as a precaution”, the spokesman said.

Doctors are unsure as to the cause of the incident and the star may be kept in hospital overnight for observation.

The 24-year-old had been signing autographs for Canadian fans who had been waiting outside her house all day, her spokesman said.
She is being treated at the London Clinic in Marylebone.

‘Serious problems’

There have long been concerns about Winehouse’s health.

Last year, she was admitted to a hospital in London suffering from “severe exhaustion”, and there were reports she was being treated in a rehabilitation clinic.

And following a succession of cancelled gigs, the 24-year-old’s father spoke out about her drug use.

Mitch Winehouse told BBC Radio 5 Live his daughter and her husband Blake Fielder-Civil had “serious problems” but said neither was in “imminent danger of death”.

Police confirmed in May that Winehouse would not face charges over a video that purported to show her smoking a crack cocaine pipe.

Concert plans

Earlier this year the singer was cautioned by police after admitting a common assault following an incident in Camden, north London.
Last week it was confirmed Winehouse had played an exclusive concert at an art gallery in Moscow for Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
And later this month she is due to be on the bill in London’s Hyde Park, at a gig marking the 90th birthday of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

The singer’s hits include Rehab – including the refrain “they tried to make me go to rehab/ I said no, no, no” – and Back to Black, the title track from her current album.

(source)

AMY WINEHOUSE’s father has confirmed his daughter had an affair while her husband BLAKE FIELDER-CIVIL has been in jail.

Winehouse was rumoured to have fallen for her manager’s former assistant, Alex Haines – sparking speculation her marriage was in trouble.
The Back To Black hitmaker denied she was leaving Fielder-Civil for another man, and Haines was subsequently sacked from his role at her management agency.

And now Mitch Winehouse has confirmed the singer was romantically involved with Haines – and he was devastated by the revelation.
He tells British newspaper The People, “Amy told Blake she had a little fling with Alex but never slept with him – whatever that meant.
“She was in a bad state that day. I really lost it and shouted at her that she had to sort herself out.

“She seemed stunned I was so upset. I think it was the first time it hit home how her behaviour has affected the family.”

(source)

Amy Winehouse showed up late for her first concert since leaving rehab, giving an underwhelming performance in front of 90,000 people Friday at a Lisbon music festival.

The Grammy-winning jazz-pop diva turned up almost an hour late for the outdoor show. She apologized for having a sore throat, and her voice cracked during the 55-minute set.

Winehouse, wearing a short dress, appeared distracted during her performance. She paused to talk to members of her band, fiddled at length with her microphone, sucked throat candy and at one point dashed offstage but quickly returned.

She had cuts on her left arm, and her right hand was bandaged.

Winehouse’s musical career has flourished despite her erratic behavior, missed concerts and stints in drug rehab.

“Hey Lisbon,” Winehouse told the crowd, which had booed when she failed to show up on time. “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said.

The sell-out crowd, gathered in a park for the Rock in Rio festival, warmed to Winehouse as the 24-year-old sang hits including her breakthrough song “Rehab,” soul classics and reggae songs.

The crowd wasn’t thoroughly thrilled, though, and she walked off stage without playing an encore. The crowd remained subdued.

Winehouse was the third act of the day on the festival’s main stage, coming on before headliner Lenny Kravitz.

Winehouse’s management told the festival organizers she would not speak to the media.

The singer is booked to play at a series of music festivals in Europe this summer. She said she is set to perform next month at a concert in London honoring Nelson Mandela.

Last week she won an Ivor Novello award, a prestigious British prize, for “Love Is a Losing Game” from her “Back to Black” album. Her father received the prize after Winehouse arrived late to the ceremony.

Earlier this month, the singer was arrested and questioned by police about video footage that appeared to show her inhaling fumes from a crack pipe. Authorities said the singer would not be charged.

Last year she canceled a series of British concerts and postponed a tour of the U.S. and Canada after British media reported that she was in and out of rehab.

Amy Winehouse was arrested Wednesday in connection with a January video that allegedly shows her doing drugs at a party at her north London home.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the Grammy winner was released on so-called police bail following several hours of questioning at a police station in the city.

Winehouse’s spokesman, Chris Goodman, confirmed that his client had been arrested Wednesday and held in police custody to answer police questions.

“Amy Winehouse voluntarily attended a London police station today by appointment. She was arrested in order to be interviewed and is cooperating fully with inquiries,” Goodman said in a statement.

“The interview relates to a video handed to police earlier this year,” he said.

Britain’s The Sun tabloid in January published still images from a video that it claimed showed Winehouse inhaling fumes from a small pipe. The images were said to have been filmed during a party at her home.

Winehouse, famous for her hit “Rehab,” has had a turbulent private life. Last month she was cautioned by police for assault after she slapped a man during a night out. That means no charges were filed, but the incident was placed on her record.

Shortly after The Sun published the photographs, Winehouse entered a London rehabilitation center.

Her release on police bail means she has not been charged with an offense, but that officers can recall her for more questioning at any time.