Amy Winehouse: Family tell of 'gaping hole' left in their lives as Russell Brand pays tribute

THE death of multi award-winning singer Amy Winehouse has left a "gaping hole", her family said.

The tragic singer, who was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon, was described as "vibrant, funny and caring" by her management as her father flew back from a jazz festival in New York.

The five-time Grammy winning artist, who rose to fame on the back of tracks including Rehab and Back to Black, was pronounced dead at her home in East London following a career blighted by drug abuse and shambolic live performances.

A statement from her family yesterday said: "Our family has been left bereft by the loss of Amy, a wonderful daughter, sister, niece. She leaves a gaping hole in our lives.

"We are coming together to remember her and we would appreciate some privacy and space at this terrible time."

Her father Mitch, who had previously spoken about his daughter's possible death in interviews, said he was "completely devastated" by the news.

The singer's mother Janis said she had seen her daughter the day before she was found dead.

"She seemed out of it", she said. "But her passing so suddenly still hasn't hit me."

A post-mortem examination will take place this week and although some sources had indicated the death may have been caused by a suspected drug overdose, police have said it is too early to speculate.

They are still treating the death as "unexplained".

It has been reported that the singer had been seen buying a cocktail of drugs on Friday night and had been drinking heavily in the hours leading up to her death.

• A meteoric rise to fame and the very public decline

• Amy Winehouse's dad 'speechless' after singer's death

She was forced to cancel her European tour earlier this year after appearing unable to sing during a performance in Serbia, which proved to be her last concert.

However, friends have suggested she had kicked her drug addiction and was on the road to recovery.

Fans had gathered overnight on Saturday and continued to lay flowers outside her Camden home yesterday.

As well as bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, fans left pictures of the singer, one of which showed her face with monochrome cartoon eyes and a white streak in her trademark beehive hair.

Many notes were also left, one reading "Too fragile, too beautiful, too big a talent for this world".

Another said: "To an exquisite singer with a beautiful voice".

Winehouse was found dead just three days after she appeared on-stage to offer support to her goddaughter Dione Bromfield during a concert in London.

Tributes poured in from around the music world as celebrities mourned the death of "a genius".

Among those paying tribute yesterday was comedian Russell Brand, a former drug addict.

Brand met Winehouse in a Camden pub a number of years ago, and said at first he thought she was "just some twit in a pink satin jacket shuffling round bars".

But when he spoke to her she was "sweet and peculiar but most of all vulnerable".Describing a Winehouse concert, he wrote of "the awe that envelops when witnessing a genius. From her oddly dainty presence that voice, a voice that seemed not to come from her but from somewhere beyond even Billie and Ella, from the font of all greatness".

He added: "Winehouse and I shared an affliction, the disease of addiction.

"Addiction is a serious disease; it will end with jail, mental institutions or death.

"Now Amy Winehouse is dead, like many others whose unnecessary deaths have been retrospectively romanticised, at 27 years old. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrelevant.

"It is not preventable today."

Brand's father, Ron, had known the singer for three years and said he believed she had kicked her drug habit.

He said: "It's a tragic loss. She was beautiful, talented of course, and gentle."

Mark Ronson, who produced Winehouse's second album Back to Black, which saw her fame soar in Britain and America, described her as a "musical soulmate", adding that it was "one of the saddest days of my life".

Sarah Brown, the wife of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, tweeted: "At only 27 what a terrible waste of a great talent. Sincere condolences to her family."

Metropolis Music, Winehouse's management company, released a statement saying: "We are trying to come to terms with the death of a dear friend and colleague, the most amazing artist and talent.

"We will always remember Amy as a vibrant, funny, caring young woman who made everyone around her feel welcome. We have lost a very special person, part of our family."

Winehouse's second album re-entered the charts hours after her death.

Purchases of her two albums increased 37-fold between Friday and Saturday, while track sales were up by a multiple of 23.