Amy Winehouse likely died of seizure, dad says (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The father of British singer Amy Winehouse said he believed his daughter died of a seizure brought on by ending years of binge drinking.

In his first major TV interview since the death of Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse told U.S. journalist Anderson Cooper that illicit drugs had nothing to do with her sudden passing at her London home in July.

Mitch Winehouse said the only drug in her system was the prescription medication Librium, which is used to help people with the symptoms of alcohol detoxification.

"She'd been clean (of drugs) for around about three years....Her problem was alcohol, the last few years of her life...She was prescribed Librium, which is a normal drug, which is given to people who are detoxing and it kind of decreases the chances of having seizures. She was continuing to take one of those pills everyday.

"She had a series of seizures brought on by this binge drinking and then stopping to drink....I think it's what the doctor said, I think she had a seizure and this was the time when there was no one there to rescue her," Winehouse told Cooper in an interview broadcast on Monday.

Winehouse's addiction to drugs and drink was well chronicled in the media and in her own hit songs like "Rehab."

She was found dead in her bed at home, age 27, causing an outpouring of grief and sending her music back to the top of the record charts. Her final recording, a duet called "Body and Soul" with crooner Tony Bennett, will be released on Wednesday this week on what would have been her 28th birthday.

Mitch Winehouse and Amy's mother Janis said they had been comforted by the reaction of fans. "In the most tragic of times it was the most wonderful experience that I think I have ever had in my life," Mitch Winehouse told Cooper.

"When we stepped out of the house at one time, people came up to me and they thanked me for having Amy. That's when I knew, this is something else. To be thanked for giving birth to my child. That's wonderful," Janis Winehouse said.

Cooper conducted the interview on his new syndicated daytime TV chat show "Anderson".

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Sugarland likely saved by tour manager's decision (AP)

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Caitlin R. King, Associated Press – Mon Aug 15, 9:44 pm ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It came down to seconds and one instinctive decision that may have saved the lives of country duo Sugarland and others at the Indiana State Fair where five people died when a stage collapsed.

Tour manager Hellen Rollens looked at the sky and decided to hold the band backstage. A minute later, 60 to 70 mph wind gusts toppled the roof and the metal scaffolding holding lights and other equipment on Saturday night in Indianapolis. It crashed into the audience, killing four instantly and fifth later at a hospital. Dozens were injured, some critically.

When they heard the deafening boom of the stage crashing, Sugarland and crew hit the ground and took cover against a wall, thinking it was going to collapse on top of them. At some point, they made it out of the dust and debris and converged on their tour bus.

"There was no running out anywhere," Sugarland manager Gail Gellman told The Associated Press on Monday. "No one knew what happened. It was just the moment when your eyes get big."

Gellman said others felt it was safe to go on stage, but Rollens ultimately acted on her intuition.

"As a tour manager, it's super important to understand what the weather conditions are when you play outside. We've always talked about not putting the band on during wind, lightning or heavy rain," said Gellman, who was in Las Vegas with another client that night.

"Everybody was standing in a prayer circle getting ready to go onstage, and Hellen, as she was walking down the ramp, the stage fell. So her decision to hold them for literally a minute saved every band member and crew's life."

The calamity has deeply touched Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush.

Nettles said in a statement that she watched video of the collapse on the news "in horror" and was "moved by the grief of those families who lost loved ones." She said she was also "moved by the great heroism" of fans who ran toward the stage to help rescue the injured.

Gellman met up with Nettles on Sunday and has watched her struggle to cope since then.

"There are moments I can see great clarity in her eyes, and there are moments I can see her tears well up so much that I just don't know what to do," Gellman said. "She's just processing and wants to encourage people to be together, to support each other."

Bush went home to be with his children in Georgia.

Gellman strongly believes it was the weather and not a staging problem that brought down the Indiana State Fair structure. She said it will not dictate how she guides her acts in the future.

"I would pose the same question to every band that goes out there, Keith Urban, Kenny (Chesney). We all tour during the summer. We all play outside. We're all cognizant and very aware of what we hang and what we do," she said. "We have restrictions and requirements (from each venue), and we stand by every single one of them."

Sugarland's elaborate set for their "Incredible Machine" tour was destroyed in the collapse. They canceled their Sunday show at the Iowa State Fair, but are "hoping and preparing" to perform as scheduled in Albuquerque, N.M., Thursday.

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Online: http://www.sugarlandmusic.com

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Caitlin R. King can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Country

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Sugarland likely saved by tour manager's decision (AP)

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Caitlin R. King, Associated Press – 23 mins ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It came down to seconds and one critical decision that may have saved the lives of country duo Sugarland and others at the Indiana State Fair where five people died when the stage collapsed.

Tour manager Hellen Rollens looked at the sky and decided to hold the band backstage a minute before 60 to 70 mph wind gusts toppled the roof and the metal scaffolding holding lights and other equipment on Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Sugarland manager Gail Gellman told The Associated Press on Monday that others felt it was safe to go on, but Rollens acted on her intuition.

Gellman says lead singer Jennifer Nettles and partner Kristian Bush are devastated. Bush went home to his two children in Georgia.

Their set was destroyed in the collapse. But they are planning to perform as scheduled in Albuquerque, N.M., Thursday.

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Online: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_indiana_fair_sugarland/42612741/SIG=110qfrnjo/*http://www.sugarlandmusic.com/

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Caitlin R. King can be reached at http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_indiana_fair_sugarland/42612741/SIG=1133qhv33/*http://www.twitter.com/AP_Country

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