Amy ’back among us’, says brother - Feb 13 2008
Amy Winehouse’s brother has spoken of his hopes that the star is "back among us" after her Grammy triumph.

Alex Winehouse revealed his family’s relief at her apparent recovery, saying his parents’ fears for their daughter’s health had made them both ill.

Writing in The Times, he said he visited his sister just weeks before she won five Grammys, when she was "clearly in the wake of a hit from the old crack pipe".

He said: "It was hard to take in that the barely communicative shell in front of us was my own flesh and blood."

He added: "I should mention here that we all knew how bad her condition was. There was never any denial on the part of my parents, whose fears and anxiety over their only daughter had made them both ill."

The singer entered a London rehab clinic, emerging to prepare for her Grammy performance via satellite after delays over her US visa.

She won five Grammy awards, including record and song of the year for her autobiographical hit Rehab.

Brother Alex said her performance, widely considered her best in months, made the family "truly happy".

He wrote: "Yes, the best of weekends. Spurs continue their resurgence, but most importantly of all very definite signs that Amy - the real Amy - is back among us.

"The hope, of course, is that this time it’s for real."

Amy on the road to recovery, says mum - Feb 12 2008
Amy Winehouse’s mother has spoken of her pride at her daughter’s Grammy success and her hopes that the troubled star’s on "the road to recovery".

The singer won five Grammy awards but couldn’t attend the ceremony because of visa problems, performing instead via satellite from London.

Her mother Janis Winehouse told GMTV: "Well, as you saw, she looks good and it’s a case of she’s on the road, and that’s what it’s about, she’s on the road to recovery."

She said it was probably best that her daughter didn’t end up going to the LA ceremony.

"I think it would have been too much for her because all of the travelling and flying there, I mean seeing what the Grammys was like ... we could see it live from there and I thought if Amy were there, she’d be lost in it, she’d be a little girl lost in it."

She said of Amy’s performance: "Well, it’s Amy coming back, she’s definitely on the way back."

She spoke of the family’s fears for the singer’s health before she entered a London rehab clinic, saying: "She was sort of with it but not with it, and that’s the thing where I think fortunately, thank goodness in our family, she’s got a solid family and we’re all there for her."

Grammy glory for Amy - Feb 11 2008
Troubled British singing sensation Amy Winehouse has won five Grammy Awards in the US, including record and song of the year for her autobiographical hit Rehab.

The jazz star, whose personal life is in turmoil, also picked up best new artist, best pop vocal album for Back To Black and best female pop vocal at the star-studded ceremony in LA.

Visa problems prevented the 24-year-old from attending the event in person, but she performed You Know I’m No Good and Rehab in front of a small audience in a London studio and took part via satellite.

The beehived-singer has seen her career soar to new heights with critical acclaim and chart success for her second album Back to Black and has also won both Brit and Mobo awards.

After a standing ovation at the Grammys, she said: "Thank you very much, it’s an honour to be here. Thank you very, very much."