Amy Winehouse's tour boss quits amid drug accusations

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Troubled: Amy picks up a laptop from her home late last night

Thom Stone walked out on the singer just a day after she had a meltdown during a gig in Birmingham, swearing at fans and falling over on stage.

Mr Stone confirmed he had quit after it was said that he found working with Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil who is currently behind bars, was harming his health.

The last straw was when Amy, 24, and Blake were arrested with cannabis in Norway last month.

The Sun reported today that doctors found heroin in Mr Stone's system after he inhaled it passively on Amy's tour bus.

The tour manager is said to have produced a doctor's note which revealed traces of the class A drug in his blood.

“He insisted to the management team that the only way that could have happened would have been through inhaling it from Blake and Amy. Thom just had it up to here. It was a nightmare job,” the paper reported.

Amy is due to play a gig in Glasgow tonight, but the tour is in doubt after her disastrous performance on Wednesday in Birmingham.

The singer is not happy being away from London because she wants to be close to Fielder-Civil, who is in Pentonville Prison on charges of GBH and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Support: Amy's brother Alex Winehouse and music impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber have both come out in defence of the star

Her record label insists the gigs will go ahead.

Meanwhile, her older brother Alex defended his sister today, saying she is more in control of her life than people give her credit for.

The actor told GMTV that despite her disastrous gig in Birmingham on Wednesday, Amy is doing well.

He said: “I spoke to her last night. She told me to give her cats a kiss. She sounded fine, definitely.”

Alex also admitted that he has tried to get Amy on the straight and narrow in the past, but claimed she won't listen.

He said: “When I've tried to say 'What are you doing?' it just ends up in an argument.”

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Scare do: Amy Winehouse showed off her enormous beehive during an outing last night

“I know that she has a voice in her head saying 'Calm down',” he claimed.

Alex added: “She wanted me to say that she loves Blake, because he's watching.”

Music impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber has also spoken out in defence of the star.

He was part of the 8,500 strong audience in Birmingham on Wednesday night, and has praised the star's "Ella Fitzgerald quality," adding she "showed flashes of genius."

He says: "I thought there were moments when she was absolutely magnificent."

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New blow: Amy Winehouse's tour manager has quit just a day after her on stage meltdown

He explained: "I didn't notice her doing anything peculiar. I thought her voice was toned and she was handling material you would not expect a girl of her age to cope with.

"It was strange what happened. Suddenly, way into the show, the audience suddenly turned on her and she wasn't equipped to handle it.

"I was with Sir David Frost and he has seen it all. Neither of us could work out why the crowd turned on her – it just happened in one moment."

Lord Lloyd Webber says her reaction only made matters worse: "She made the mistake of haranguing the audience instead of letting it go."

He told The Sun: "She is a big star and the awful thing about it is she's going to be crushed like a butterfly and it's not right.

"That girl needs to be nurtured and helped through all of these problems because she is a major, major talent."

Lord Lloyd Webber believes the Birmingham NIA was too large and overwhelming for the star, suggesting that "8,500 people may be too much for a person of her type."

Her personal turmoil adds to her appeal, according to the 59-year-old.

He says: "I'd say there's an Edith Piaf quality to her which is very rare. She lives those lyrics."

 

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