Friends of Amy Winehouse were today urging her to go into rehab after she was forced to leave the stage during a weekend gig because she was drunk.

The 23 year old singer had to run off stage to be sick during a performance at G-A-Y on Saturday. A spokesperson for the singer, who has been nicknamed Amy "Wino" Winehouse because of her boozy antics, insisted she had food poisoning after a trip to Miami last week, where she was spotted playing pool with her boyfriend.

But friends admitted she has been drinking too much. A source said: "Amy does have a bit of a problem, it's obvious to everyone.

"If she keeps going the way she is she'll end up doing herself some serious harm or even worse. It's tragic the way she goes on sometimes, and the amount she drinks would be considered too much for an entire rugby team, let alone a skinny young girl.

"Amy has amazing talent and it would be such a shame to see her throw it all away.

"It's time for her to face her demons and get help, otherwise her entire career could be down the drain. Another repeat performance of Saturday night and nobody will want to book her for gigs anymore."

Before Saturday's gig, Amy spent the day on a drinking bender with friend Kelly Osbourne.

As a result she stumbled through her first song before clutching her stomach and throwing up at the side of the stage. A source said: "She turned up at the venue absolutely paralytic - there was no way she was ever going to be able to perform in that state."

The second ballad Amy was scheduled to sing was her song Rehab, which contains the lines: "They tried to make me go to rehab. I said no, no, no. I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine. He's tried to make me go to rehab, I won't go, go, go. She wrote the song after her management company tried to encourage her to get help.

One gig-goer said: "Everyone started booing, heckling and stamping their feet when they heard she wasn't returning to the stage. The crowd at G-A-Y is normally really up for it and friendly, but I've never seen them so angry before."

Amy, originally from Southgate, North London, has so far refused to seek any treatment for her wild partying. She has appeared drunk on The Charlotte Church Show and when she appeared as a guest on BBC2's Never Mind The Buzzcocks she endured repeated comments that she should get a grip on her alcohol problems.

Her album Back To Black is currently number two in the UK album chart. Frank, Amy's debut album released in 2003, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and she won an Ivor Novello award in 2004 for her debut single, Stronger Than Me.