Winehouse's father says he fought to get her clean (AP)

NEW YORK – Amy Winehouse's father says the fight to get her off drugs often turned physical, as he tussled with the drug dealers and gangsters who were supplying his daughter with them.

"I spent my time fighting with drug dealers, and I mean proper fighting," Mitch Winehouse said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. "And I'm a middle-aged man, who is overweight, having fistfights with people."

Winehouse said his daughter finally budged once she saw how hurt her family was: "She witnessed all this stuff going on, of how her family and her friends were fighting gangsters and she decided she didn't want to put her family in that position anymore."

Amy Winehouse, who had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, was found dead at her London home on July 23. Her father is launching The Amy Winehouse Foundation on Wednesday, which would've been the singer's 28th birthday.

Mitch Winehouse said there were some negative influences in the group that surrounded Amy. He said he was naive about her drug use early on.

"I didn't know the extent of her problem until maybe four months before she decided to quit," he said.

Winehouse — who has been doing interviews and has appeared on TV to talk about the U.S. launch of the foundation — said talking about his daughter is "very hard," but it "is helping us deal with our grief." He made various appearances with Amy's mother, Janis; his current wife, Jane; and Amy's last boyfriend, Reg Traviss.

"I don't know what her ultimate plans were, but she was certainly talking to me about having children," Winehouse said of his daughter's last relationship. "Even when she was drinking, she was in a great place."

Winehouse believes his daughter died of a seizure related to alcohol detoxification. She had seizures in the past, he said. A full inquest into her death begins next month.

Mitch Winehouse, who is also a musician, was in New York for a performance when his daughter died. He said he struggles to listen to her music, especially her critically acclaimed, multiplatinum album "Back to Black," which won five Grammy Awards and is the U.K.'s best-selling album of the 21st century. It featured songs about Amy's addiction and relationship with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

"I can't sit down and listen to her music," he said. "I couldn't ever listen to `Back to Black' anyway because it reminded me of dark times."

But since her death, Mitch Winehouse said, he is beginning to realize his daughter's musical talents.

"I took everything for granted, I didn't appreciate what a great singer she was, and now I do," he said, getting teary-eyed.

And he still wants to release his own music. Winehouse said initially after Amy's death, he told his wife, "I never want to sing again, ever."

But he said recording music has been therapeutic for him, and he hopes to release more, with all the proceeds going to the foundation in his daughter's name, which will assist disadvantaged children and young adults. He said he's able to focus on that side of his life since his daughter left their family financial stable.

"Amy left us in a very fortunate position as a family," said Mitch Winehouse, who worked as a London taxi driver. "Being a London taxi driver is a great thing, but I don't have to do that for a living anymore."

Amy Winehouse is featured on the Tony Bennett duet "Body and Soul"; the song and music video were released Wednesday and some of its sales will profit the late singer's foundation. Mitch Winehouse said there is unreleased music from his daughter that he eventually hopes to make available.

"Some of it is better quality than others," he said. "We're not going to rip anybody off, we want make sure it's good and it's good quality."

He also said there are recordings of a 17-year-old Amy performing in London's National Youth Jazz Orchestra that he would like to release someday.

"You would have thought you were listening to Ella Fitzgerald," he said. "Just wonderful."

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Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at _http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

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Winehouse's dad says he thinks seizure killed her (AP)

NEW YORK – Amy Winehouse's father says he believes she died after suffering a seizure related to alcohol detoxification and "there was nobody there to rescue her."

The soul diva, who had fought drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead in bed at her London home on July 23. Her family says toxicology reports indicated there was alcohol in her bloodstream but it was unclear whether this had contributed to her death at age 27.

Mitch Winehouse said Friday during a taping of Anderson Cooper's new syndicated talk show that traces of the prescription drug Librium, which is used to fight anxiety and withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism, were found in her body.

"Everything Amy did, she did to excess," he said on the show, which is to air as Cooper's debut Monday. "She drank to excess and did detox to excess."

He said he regretted that his daughter — whose most famous song, "Rehab," has her answering "no, no, no" when told to go to rehab — was trying to kick her alcoholism without a doctor's help. He said "the periods of abstinence were becoming longer, and the periods of drinking were becoming shorter. It was heading in the right direction."

The singer, whose other hits include "Tears Dry on Their Own," had suffered seizures during this period and would lose consciousness. Her father admitted he was speculating that this happened on the morning she died and said he should find out more conclusively how she died when a full inquest into her death begins next month.

Years earlier, when Amy Winehouse was on harder drugs including heroin and cocaine, her father said, he would not have been surprised if she had died.

Mitch Winehouse, who is starting his own singing career, was in New York when his daughter's security guard called him in July. Hearing the distraught tone of the security guard's voice, the father said his first words were, "Is she dead?"

Amy Winehouse's breakthrough "Back to Black" album was recently certified as the best-selling disc in Britain so far during the 21st century. The updated take on old-time soul also was responsible for five Grammy Awards.

"When she wasn't drinking," her father said, "she was absolutely on top of the world."

He occasionally dabbed tears from his eyes as Cooper's show ran video clips of her. He said he was comforted by the outpouring of support from her fans. Her mother, Janis Winehouse, said she's had people approach her to thank her for having the singer.

Mitch Winehouse said he blamed the singer's ex-husband, a music industry hanger-on, for introducing her to hard drugs but did not blame him for her death. He said she had not taken drugs since December 2008.

Amy Winehouse's boyfriend at the time of her death, Reg Traviss, said they had spent a quiet evening looking at pictures and watching DVDs two days before she died. They were looking forward to attending a friend's wedding in a few days and were planning a trip to St. Lucia around her Sept. 14 birthday.

He said he struggled to find the right moments to talk to his girlfriend about her drinking without seeming as though he was nagging.

"She was a really clever girl," Traviss said. "She knew what she was doing. I would sometimes choose my moments when there was something that was needed to be said."

Winehouse's family has set up a foundation to raise money to help people beat alcohol and drug addiction. Her father met with British political leaders to seek backing for setting up a drug rehab center in her name.

The foundation officially starts operation next week, and her father indicated that was why he was coming forth to do interviews about her.

Cooper's program donated $50,000 to the foundation, although spokeswoman Laura Mandel said the donation was made after the interview was set up and the booking wasn't contingent upon giving the foundation money.

Amy Winehouse's stepmother and aunt also appeared on Cooper's show.

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Amy Winehouse's goddaughter performs at UK fest (AP)

EASTNOR CASTLE DEER PARK, England – Amy Winehouse's 15-year-old goddaughter performed an outstanding set at the Big Chill music festival, mirroring her late mentor by closing her show with a cover of Winehouse's "Love Is a Losing Game."

Dionne Bromfield got teary-eyed when she performed the song, barely able to sing its last few words, though the crowd cheered her on.

"She was an amazing singer," Bromfield said. "She was not only my godmother, but she was my mentor and my boss as well."

The big-voiced singer sang with ease during her 30-minute performance on Saturday, the second day of the U.K. music festival.

Bromfield was a reminder of Winehouse: She stood close to the mic while belting lyrics, with her big hair and tiny build.

She was backed by a 5-piece band and dancers, performing songs from her two albums and singing mainly about boys and relationship troubles.

Her scratchy voice was top-notch as she sang soul songs with pop flavors, especially on the old-school sounding "Remember Our Love" and the up-tempo "Yeah Right." She also performed covers of Cee Lo Green's smash "Forget You" "and the Shirelles' "Mama Said," Bromfield's first single.

Winehouse, who had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, was found dead of unknown causes at her London home on July 23.

Bromfield is signed to Winehouse's label, Lioness Records.

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Winehouse's father pleads with government over rehab (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Amy Winehouse's father went to parliament on Monday to plead for more state-funded drug rehabilitation centres as his family waits for toxicology test results on the British singer's death.

Mitch Winehouse discussed plans to tackle a gap in treatment services and wider drugs policy with Crime Minister James Brokenshire.

"I want to involve myself in things that would be important to Amy," the taxi driver said.

"This isn't only important to me, this is important to our whole country.

"There's hundreds of thousands of young people in situations today that could be avoided, and these are our future policemen, doctors and lawyers and solicitors, that we could help."

Winehouse, 27, was found dead at her north London home on July 23. Her death remains unexplained, with toxicology test results due within the next three weeks, although it is not being treated as suspicious.

The soul singer's sultry vocal talents were often overshadowed by her drink and drug addictions, and her best-known single, "Rehab", detailed her troubles and reluctance to undergo rehabilitation treatment.

"I think there is a new emphasis and thinking within the government to try and get treatment in at the sharp end rather than money being wasted through the criminal justice system," Mitch Winehouse said.

"There was one rehab centre for juveniles, Middlegate, which has just shut down because of a lack of funding.

"We were in the fortunate position of being able to fund Amy to go into private rehab, but this is about people who can't afford it."

Fans of the soul star sent her back on top of this week's British album chart, which came out Sunday.

Grammy Award-winning album "Back to Black", which first reached number one in 2007, returned to the summit while Winehouse's debut release, "Frank", recharted at number five. A box set of the two albums entered the chart at number 10.

The singer also occupied five spots on the singles chart top 40 with the song "Back to Black" reaching number eight.

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Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" back on Billboard's Top 10 (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Amy Winehouse's music was said to be a big influence on Adele's. And for at least one week, these two British neo-soul sisters get to share the top 10, as Winehouse reentered the Billboard album sales chart at No. 9, while the indomitable Adele moved back up into the top position.

Winehouse's breakthrough "Back to Black" album, released in America in 2007, sold 37,000 copies for the sales period -- virtually all of that between Saturday morning, when her death was announced, and Sunday night, when the SoundScan sales week closed.

Her numbers could be as big or bigger on next week's chart, which will reflect a full week's worth of posthumous interest in the tragic star.

Her far lesser known debut album, "Frank" -- which was only issued in America after "Back to Black" became a smash -- also reentered the chart, at No. 57, after selling 7,600 copies over the weekend.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, more than 95 percent of Winehouse's album sales were digital downloads, which is not surprising, given how most music retailers shy away from carrying catalog nowadays and might have had one CD, at most, in stock.

Things were a little less soulful in the No. 2 position. The franchise that won't die, Kidz Bop, had another strong bow for its latest volume of child-sung songs, which includes heavily bowdlerized versions of provocative hits like Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends" and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."

"Kidz Bop 20" entered in second place on sales of 69,000, a typical debut for the series.

On the downswing, rock band 3 Doors Down entered two doors down from the top spot they're accustomed to. "Time of My Life," the group's fifth album, sold an initial 60,000 copies -- well under half the 154,000 units their previous effort debuted with three years ago (and an even farther sight away from the six-times-platinum status the outfit mined at their peak).

Other debuting albums included DJ Khaled's "We the Best Forever," a personal best at 53,000 units, bowing at No. 5; rock band 311's "Universal Pulse," in at No. 7 with 46,000; and They Might Be Giants' "Join Us," which joined the Billboard 200 at No. 32.

All of last week's top entries experienced at least a 60 percent decline, and only Blake Shelton's held on well enough to stick around the top 10 at all. The "Voice" coach's "Red River Blue" sold another 47,000 and dropped from the top position to No. 6.

With so little competition, Adele's "21" climbed back to No. 1 by selling 77,000. It was the album's 11th non-consecutive week at the top, meaning it's dominated all other albums in exactly half of the 22 weeks it's been out.

With a total of nearly 2.8 million copies, "21" continues to race far ahead of the pack in year-to-date sales.

The digital singles chart saw scant new action.

The highest new entry was at No. 26, for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Adventures of Rain Dance Maggi." The leadoff track for the funk-rockers' upcoming album had first-week sales of 57,000.

A collaboration between Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Otis" -- a teaser from one of the year's most anticipated albums -- did less spectacularly than expected, selling 44,000 to enter at No. 40.

LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" continued to dominate among digital songs, with another 209,000 downloads, raising the tune's total to a true-reason-to-party 2.5 million. As expected, Demi Lovato's unusually stark ballad, "Skyscraper," took a steep dive after the initial interest in her comeback, plunging from No. 2 to No. 27.

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Key dates in Amy Winehouse's career (AP)

Timeline of highlights from Amy Winehouse's career, along with low points such as drunken fights and stints in rehab:

• Oct. 20, 2003: Winehouse releases her debut album, "Frank."

• March 13, 2007: Winehouse releases her second album "Back to Black" in the United States.

• May 18, 2007: Winehouse marries Blake Fielder-Civil in Miami.

• Aug. 28, 2007: Winehouse's father-in-law tells a radio station that fans should stop buying her records to force her to seek help for a drug addiction.

• Oct. 18, 2007: Winehouse and Fielder-Civil are arrested in Norway for charges of drug possession.

• Dec. 18, 2007: Winehouse is arrested in London on suspicion of attempting to interfere with a court case involving her husband.

• Jan. 23, 2008: Scotland Yard investigates a video released by British tabloid, The Sun, that allegedly shows Winehouse smoking crack.

• Jan. 24, 2008: Winehouse's U.S. record label, Universal Music Group, announces the singer has entered rehab for drug addiction.

• Feb. 10, 2008: Winehouse wins five Grammy Awards for "Back to Black," including Best New Artist and Record of the Year. Due to visa application troubles, she performs by satellite from London during the awards show.

• June 16, 2008: Winehouse is hospitalized after fainting in her home.

• July 21, 2008: Fielder-Civil is sentenced to 27 months in jail for assault of a pub manager and obstructing justice.

• 2009: Winehouse creates her own record label, Lioness Records.

• July 24, 2009: Winehouse is acquitted of an assault charge that was based on allegations that she assaulted a fan by hitting her in the eye in September 2008 after the woman asked to take her picture.

• Dec. 23, 2009: London authorities announce Winehouse has been charged in connection with an assault at a British theater.

• Jan. 20, 2010: Winehouse pleads guilty to drunkenly assaulting a theater manager at a family Christmas show and receives a conditional discharge on condition she stay out of trouble for two years.

• April 27, 2010: Winehouse is treated for bruised ribs at a London clinic after falling in her north London home.

• Sept. 9, 2010: Quincy Jones says Winehouse is recording a song for his album.

• May 27, 2011: Winehouse checks into treatment program in London's Priory Clinic, which treats psychiatric problems as well as drug and alcohol addiction.

• June 2, 2011: Winehouse checks out of treatment program in London. Her spokesman says she will continue outpatient treatment at the Priory Clinic.

• June 18, 2011: Winehouse is jeered and booed while on stage in Serbia after stumbling and seeming to forget lyrics to her songs.

• June 21, 2011: Winehouse cancels the rest of her European summer concert tour and all public performances after the Serbia concert.

_July 20, 2011: Winehouse joins her goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield, onstage at the iTunes Festival in London. Winehouse doesn't sing.

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Celebrities tweet responses to Winehouse's death (AP)

A selection of quotes tweeted Saturday in response to the death of soul-jazz singer Amy Winehouse:

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"Drugs took her gift, her soul, her light, long before they took her life. RIP Amy" — Josh Groban

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"Truly sad news about Amy Winehouse. My heart goes out to her family. May her troubled soul find peace." — Demi Moore

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"so many people saying that because it's not a surprise that amy winehouse passed, it's not sad. i hope you have more compassion for friends." — Rob Thomas

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"Hug and thank everyone in your life who loves u enough to not let u end up like Amy Winehouse. RIP Amy, I wish someone would have helped" — Fred Savage

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"SO sad, another lost to addiction. A reminder this is often a fatal condition. Recovery is possible, but sadly not for Amy Winehouse" — Dr. Drew Pinsky

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"R.I.P. Amy. Your Voice will live Forever." — Joel Madden

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"This Amy Winehouse news is just so sad . To anyone struggling with addiction, please, please, please seek treatment." — Sophia Bush

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"I'm not sure how anyone with a soul can make jokes about the passing of one of the most talented artists this generation will see." — Samantha Ronson

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"My God! So sad to hear about Amy Winehouse! My deepest condolences to her friends and family and fans. You will be missed Amy xoxox" — Dave Navarro

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"So sad about Amy Winehouse - she was so talented. Really tragic." — Jessica Alba

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"i cant even breath right my now i'm crying so hard i just lost 1 of my best friends. i love you forever Amy & will never forget the real you!" — Kelly Osbourne

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"I just heard the news that Amy Winehouse passed away. What a true talent. I pray she's in a better place & at peace." — Kim Kardashian

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"Amy Winehouse lived longer than I expected. Is that awful of me? I'm sorry, Amy (hash)RIP" — Kevin Williamson, `The Vampire Diaries' executive producer

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"just heard the shocking news of Amy winehouse's death. Absolutely tragic. Such a talented artist. So sad." — Jay Sean

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"The last time I spoke 2 amy I told her let her light shine more" — Rapper Q-Tip

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"Amy Winehouse, I'm sad that you couldn't ever find peace & beat your addiction & that we won't get any of the songs you would've written" — Busy Philipps

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"What a waste of a gifted person. What a shame she saw no hope and continued living her life in that manor. I have been that low emotionally and mentally and that is overwhelming." — Kelly Clarkson

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"I'm so sad to hear the horrible news of Amy Winehouse's death. I'm so happy I knew you Amy...Rest Well. Gone Too Soon...we'll miss you!!" — Usher

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Rest of Amy Winehouse's European tour in doubt (AP)

LONDON – The video is painful to watch, an artistic train wreck for all to see. The question is what Amy Winehouse is going to do next.

The five-time Grammy Award winner, whose battles with alcohol and drug abuse have long overshadowed her music career, had a very public meltdown on stage Saturday night in Belgrade, the first stop of her European summer concert tour.

The disastrous performance shattered the goal of the troubled singer's comeback tour: A renewed focus on her musical ability, not her substance abuse problems. It also raised serious doubts about whether she is well enough to perform before an audience.

Winehouse was jeered and booed as she stumbled around the stage unable to remember the lyrics to her own songs. At times she could barely stand up. She was not able to carry a tune, appearing disoriented and unaware of her surroundings. At one point she dragged over a backup singer to take the mike and sing.

The crowd at Belgrade's Kalemegdan Park was often unable to decipher even what song Winehouse was performing — a startling problem for a singer who is popular in Serbia. Many of the 20,000 fans walked out in protest, angry that they paid steep ticket prices for such a spectacle.

Serbian media called the concert a "scandal," with the Blic daily labeling it "the worst in the history of Belgrade."

Instead of continuing to Istanbul on Monday and Athens on Wednesday for long-scheduled concerts, Winehouse canceled those concerts and returned to her London home. She is now holding talks that are expected to lead to further cancellations of her 12-date European tour.

Winehouse had turned down payment for the Belgrade fiasco, her publicist in London said. Serbian fans flooded the Internet with demands to get their ticket money back, but her management did not comment on the issue of refunds.

The Belgrade meltdown has raised questions about Winehouse's future viability as a live act.

Winehouse, 27, has been hospitalized twice for injuries suffered after fainting and falling at home, and her father said she has health problems stemming from smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine.

Entertainment industry insiders say that if Winehouse cancels more shows she would have major obstacles getting insured.

Neil Warnock, chief executive of The Agency Group booking agency, said Winehouse and her tour promoters may be entitled to insurance coverage for any cancellations. He said insurance settlements would depend on what previous information was provided to the insurance companies.

"If you fairly disclosed any pre-existing conditions, and what caused the cancellation is a new condition, then the artists and promoters would be covered," he said. "If it's a pre-condition, then it wouldn't be covered, or if it's an undeclared condition that should have been declared, that wouldn't be covered."

He said the legal and financial issues that followed Michael Jackson's sudden death in advance of a series of London performances were based on similar questions.

Warnock said even bands with long histories of substance abuse like the Rolling Stones were traditionally able to meet their contractual obligations and perform at their gigs. He would not speculate directly on Winehouse's future.

The singer's next scheduled concert is July 8 in Bilbao, Spain, but it is likely to be canceled. The tour was to end in Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 15. The demanding schedule was supposed to be an important test of Winehouse's ability to stand up to the rigors of live performing.

In addition to her stage troubles, her recording career has also been put on hold. There have long been plans for a follow up to her two successful albums — including the breakthrough "Back to Black" released in 2006 — but new material has not been released.

It has been a dramatic fall for Winehouse, whose grasp of pop and soul — along with her trademark beehive hairdo and her raunchy stage act — brought her worldwide fame and substantial sales.

Her first album "Frank," released in 2003, was heavily influenced by contemporary jazz and earned her critical acclaim. "Back to Black" arrived three years later and was an overwhelming success with its unusual fusion of jazz, pop and soul with a heavy debt to the girl groups of the early, pre-Beatles 1960s.

It was edgy as well, with the song "Rehab" dealing with the health issues that were soon to sidetrack her musical career.

"They tried to make me go to rehab," Winehouse sang on the hit. "I said `No, no, no.'"

Winehouse has sought rehab therapy in the past after her widely publicized battles with alcohol and drugs.

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Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade.

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