Amy Winehouse's father hands out T-shirts outside her home as reports emerge suggesting she died because she quit alcohol



Amy Winehouse's parents returned to the tragic singer's house amid reports their daughter died because she quit alcohol.



Her father Mitch and mother Janis made their way to Amy's north London home this morning as part of the Jewish tradition, Shiva.

Later in the day Mitch, 60, handed out T-shirts to waiting fans outside the Camden property.



Handouts: Mitch Winehouse pops out of his daughter's home to give out T-shirts to waiting mourners

Mourning: The Winehouse's are observing the Jewish tradition of Shiva a week-long custom aimed to help with the bereavement process

Mitch and Janis, 56, were accompanied by their son Alex and close friend Tyler James as they looked at the tributes left outside the property before making their way inside.

According to Jewish tradition the Winehouse family will be observing the tradition of Shiva for a week.



The period of mourning is part of the customs of bereavement in Judaism.

Mourning: Amy Winehouse's parents Mitch and Janis were seen arriving at the singer's house this morning



Tributes: Amy's north London home is guarded by a security professional as fans leave floral tributes and messages for the tragic singer



The estranged couple's appearance at the house comes as it has been claimed the singer - who died at the age of 27 on Saturday - passed away was because she stopped drinking.

Some of her security guards also appeared at the house to start clearing some of the singer's belongings - including, poignantly, a guitar.



They also carried out holdalls and suitcases of items thought to hold special meaning for her family and friends.



Sad task: An acoustic guitar in a binliner is taken from Amy's home in Camden Square as the heartrending job of clearing her belongings begins

Removals: Security guards for the late star left with bags of property as mourning fans looked on

Taken away: One of the bags was labelled to help the contents be identified

It is thought that Amy had been told to cut down on her drinking gradually, but her cold turkey approach to quitting the booze gave her frail body a shock it couldn’t handle.

A source close to the family told the The Sun newspaper: ‘Abstinence gave her body such a fright they thought it was eventually the cause of her death.’

Saying goodbye: Amy's brother Alex was also in attendance at the singer's house today

Touching: Mitch receives a hug from several of the fans waiting outside the house Emotional: One fan sobs as she breathes into a T-shirt which once belonged to Amy

The Rehab singer was found dead at her Camden home by a body guard on Saturday and, after an inconclusive autopsy, her funeral was held on Tuesday attended by her close friends and family.



Amy’s father Mitch gave a touching eulogy where he said that Amy had beaten her battle with drink and drugs and she hadn’t drunk for three weeks and hadn’t touched drugs for years.

However it has been claimed that the singer was drinking gin and red bull drinks at the Roundhouse in Camden three days before her death as her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield performed as part of the iTunes festival.

Tragic loss: Amy Winehouse's family are said to believe that the reason she died was because she cut out booze totally



Speaking on Tuesday Mitch told mourners: ‘Three years ago, Amy conquered her drug dependency, the doctors said it was impossible but she really did it. She was trying hard to deal with her drinking and had just completed three weeks of abstinence.’



'She said, "Dad, I've had enough of drinking. I can't stand the look on your and the family's faces any more'.



Long battle: Amy, who had a long history with drink and drugs had performed a shambolic set in Serbia in June before she cancelled her tour to focus on herself



A source told The Sun: ‘Mitch said the shock of giving up, and everything she had been through over a bad few years was just too much for her to take.’



Amy’s doctor had given her a clean bill of health the day before she died.



Dr Julian Spinks told the Daily Star: ‘If you go from very high alcohol consumption to nothing you can get the DTs and fits that can leave you unconscious, in danger of stopping breathing and dying because of that.’



While the reasons for Amy’s death will not be revealed until toxicology results come through, which police say could take up to four weeks.



Meanwhile the police are said to be piecing together Amy’s final hours and there are reports that the singer may have met up with a ‘mystery man’ hours before her death, The Mirror has reported.



Hundreds of fans have paid tribute to the singer creating a shrine outside her London home and on the day of the funeral well-wishers celebrated her life with a party.



Mitch visited the street and said: 'Amy was about one thing and that was love. Her whole life was devoted to her family and her friends and to you guys as well. We're devastated and I'm speechless, but thanks for coming.'



Her boyfriend, film director Reg Traviss, also paid tribute to the singer and said he had lost 'my darling who I loved very much'.

Yesterday her close friend Mark Ronson performed a special set in tribute to the singer in his first performance since her death.



It has also been claimed that Amy left a trove of unreleased music, but no decision has been made about whether it will be released.

Spokesman Chris Goodman says there is 'plenty' of material, but there have been no discussions yet about releasing anything.



Sales of her music have soared since her death. In the U.S., digital sales of her tracks have risen by 2,000 percent in the past week.

NEW AMY WINEHOUSE MUSIC ON THE WAY?

Amy Winehouse left a trove of unreleased music, but no decision has been made about whether it will be released, people close to the singer say.

The soul diva, who had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, was found dead of unknown causes at her London home on Saturday. She was 27.

Spokesman Chris Goodman said Thursday that Winehouse left behind "plenty" of material, but there have been no discussions yet about releasing anything.

It's not clear how finished the tracks are. Winehouse released only two albums in her lifetime, but had been in the studio sporadically over the past few years. In July 2010 she said a new album would appear within six months, but it was never finished.

The Guardian newspaper on Thursday quoted an unnamed spokesman "close to" record label Universal as saying Winehouse had left the "framework" of about a dozen songs.

The record company did not immediately return requests for comment from the Associated Press.

Producer Salaam Remi, who worked on both Winehouse albums - Frank and Back to Black - and was involved with her new material, told DJ Kim Kane of New York's Power 105.1 radio station that there were not large amounts of finished material, and Winehouse's estate had yet to approve the release of anything.

'We had a lot of things going, there are recordings, but first things first, I think,' he said. 'We're trying to focus on what's at hand and what her family wants to do.'

There would certainly be an appetite for new material. Two days after her funeral, dozens of mourners continued to gather outside her home in north London, leaving flowers and taking photos.

Sales of Winehouse's music have soared since her death. In the U.S., digital sales of her tracks have risen by 2,000 percent in the past week, according to Nielsen Soundscan, and Back to Black is set to re-enter the Billboard album chart at No. 9.

Britain's Official Charts Company said it looks like Winehouse will have seven songs in this week's Top 40, which is announced Sunday.

Music critic John Aizlewood said posthumous releases can help cement an artist's legacy - or, if mishandled, do the opposite.

'The record company is there to tend the musical legacy,' he said. 'If they put out something that is obviously substandard, it will negate that legacy.'

He cited the example of Jeff Buckley, who drowned in 1997 having released just one album, the highly praised Grace.

'Since he's died he's put an awful lot of stuff out,' Aizlewood said. 'I don't think it's particularly enhanced his standing. It was the same with Jimi Hendrix - once he died, he really started releasing records. And most of them were appalling.

'It's such a dangerous area to start finishing unfinished music.'

One track that should see the light of day is a version of pop standard Body and Soul that Winehouse recorded in March with Tony Bennett for a forthcoming duets album.

