Amy's taking a break, says dad

Updated 08.45 Sat Jul 12 2008

Keywords: health, cigarette, Winehouse, Amy

Amy Winehouse will take a break from live performing to allow her to rest and work on her new album, her father has said.

Mitch Winehouse revealed in an interview: "From 6th September, we're not going to be doing any more work - Amy will be concentrating on writing for the new album.

"I want people to understand - even if they give her one cigarette, they're causing her harm" - Mitch Winehouse

"She has five contractual gigs between now and then that she has to do. Then she will be relaxing and writing."

On the singer's health, he warned that a single cigarette could cause physical damage because of her emphysema.

He said: "I want people to understand - even if they give her one cigarette, they're causing her harm.

"She has a small amount of emphysema in the top of one of her lungs. It's negligible, but it could lead to something a lot more serious."

He added: "Had she carried on (the way she was last summer) she could have been dead within six months."

Mr Winehouse said Amy's husband Blake Fielder-Civil "has made a good effort in prison" but he would need to go straight into rehab when he came out.

"I would say it's last chance saloon if he comes out and they go back to doing what they were doing before. So, maybe as far as Amy is concerned, it's last chance saloon," he said.

"She's got a serious health problem and she can't carry on like that."

Fielder-Civil is awaiting sentence on charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a pub landlord and also perverting the course of justice.