Amy Winehouse died after 'Ecstasy binge' (+ photos, video)

Amy Winehouse. Supplied

Amy Winehouse died in her Camden home after wild drinking sessions and an Ecstasy binge, it was reported last night.

Winehouse, famous for the song Rehab, was found dead in her Camden Square flat yesterday (NZ time). Within hours of her body being removed under a red blanket the area was awash with fans' tributes and flowers.

Police described Winehouse's death as "unexplained". But friends told the Sunday Mirror newspaper she had hit the self-destruct button over the past two days in wild drinking sessions around Camden.

A friend told the newspaper: "She has spent the last seven days on a massive bender and people were saying she's going to drink herself to death."

Friends who were with her believe she died from a "bad" Ecstasy pill combined with huge amounts of alcohol and the fact that she suffered from emphysema.

One friend said: "It was an Ecstasy overdose. She could do cocaine until the cows come home. But this was obviously a dodgy pill."

That was backed up by MTV producer Danny Panthaki, who claimed: "My friend's boyfriend is a policeman, and he's the one who found Amy Winehouse dead. Overdosed on Ecstasy." Other reports suggested she had died of a seizure that was alcohol related.

The star had faced a long battle with alcohol and drugs and once told her former personal assistant Alex Haines that she feared she would be dead at 27 - like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain.

Haines said in a 2008 interview with the now-defunct News of the World: "She reckoned she would join the 27 club of rock stars who died at that age."

Winehouse's drink and drug abuse was to blame for her withdrawal from all her scheduled dates last month after a series of erratic performances.

She started her 12-leg European tour in Belgrade but was booed off the stage after appearing to forget her lyrics. She then pulled out of performances in Istanbul and Athens before she cancelled the tour.

A statement released by the troubled singer's spokesperson said that she would be given "as long as it takes" to recover.

"Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen."

Winehouse entered the Priory addiction clinic in May for treatment but stayed for only one week.

- NZ Herald