HOWZAT

He added: “It seems to be accepted that rich rock stars take drugs, but history is littered with dead young rock stars. Blake is just a regular guy and Amy is a lovely girl. If they die it would be such a tragic waste.”

He said: “We believe that the record company should be proactive in helping the couple get better. They seem to be hiding behind a label that the pair aren’t drug addicts, they’re ‘exhausted’. There are a lot of people that surround the couple who do have a vested interest.”

Mr Fielder-Civil added: “Perhaps it’s time to stop buying records. That affects the record company and the record company may take notice.”

He called for Winehouse’s contract to cease until she recovered or for music bosses to force the couple to enter a rehabilitation unit “where they can’t leave until they sort themselves out”.

Winehouse has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and the Mobo awards next month but Mr Fielder-Civil said that the organisers should withdraw her name. Rewarding her would “condone” drug abuse.

However, Mr Winehouse, the singer’s taxi-driver father, rang the programme to contradict his inlaws. He said that the Fielder-Civils had gone to a pub with Winehouse and their son instead of a meeting with dependency specialists.

He rejected the boycott threat. “Will it do any good? No,” he said. “There’s only one way out of this. At some point they are going to reach rock bottom, and at that point they will say, ‘I don’t want to do that any more’.”

Mr Winehouse said that Universal employees had been “crying their eyes out” and the company had not behaved in a “callous” way.

He admitted: “We have two families pulling in different directions. Basically, we just want the same things, we want our children to be safe.”

The Fielder-Civils said that the couple had betrayed their trust by taking drugs while babysitting their two other sons, aged 13 and 14.

They had confronted a drug dealer and passed on details to the police and the record company, but no action had been taken. Mr Fielder-Civil said: “The police told me that they would collate information and take action if required.” An Island spokesman said: “We have been doing everything we can to help with Amy’s personal problems over the past few weeks. She has our full support, professionally, emotionally and financially. We’ve advised her to take a complete rest during this difficult period and have put all her promotional commitments on hold.”

An industry insider said: “From Billie Holiday onwards, drug use sadly has gone with the artistic territory. Everyone wants to help but what can a record company do if the families can’t even agree on a course of action and the couple don’t want to stop?”

Fatal addictions

Billie Holiday The epitome of the tortured artist. Heroin addiction led to repeated arrests; was denied a licence to perform in establishments selling alcohol. Died of liver cirrhosis, aged 44

Édith Piaf French icon, raised in a brothel, succumbed to morphine and alcohol addictions after 1951 car crash. Died of liver cancer, 47

Charlie Parker Pioneering saxophonist developed morphine addiction as a teenager and became heroin addict. Coroner said his ravaged 34-year-old corpse was that of a man aged 50 to 60

Keith Moon Who drummer blazed his way through the Sixties in a blur of pills, cocaine and brandy. Died of an overdose of drugs to fight alcoholism, in 1978, aged 32

Jimi Hendrix Guitar hero began mixing alcohol and pills to offset the pressures of fame. Died of a barbiturates overdose at the age of 27

Kurt Cobain Mother said that Cobain had joined “that stupid club” after the Nirvana singer – who was also a heroin addict – killed himself, aged 27, with a shotgun

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