Amy Winehouse spotted wearing Villa badge

Feb 21 2008 By Tony Collins

TROUBLED singer Amy Winehouse is used to being identified as the villain of the piece, but could she be a true Villan?

The voice behind hit singles Rehab and Tears Dry On Their Own has been spotted wearing a distinctive Aston Villa badge on a chain around her neck.

Amy, who recently picked up five Grammy Awards, stepped out of her home in Camden, north London, for a late-night visit to her local takeaway ahead of last night's Brits.

And there on the 24-year-old Londoner's necklace was the famous emblem of the second city club.

If her allegiance to the boys in claret and blue is confirmed, it would add to the string of celebrity football fans behind high riding Aston Villa.

They already include Prince William, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, violinist Nigel Kennedy and Bank of England governor Mervyn King.

Amy's press officer Shane O'Neill said he was unaware of the singer's footballing favourites.

He said Amy could not be contacted on the matter as she was busily rehearsing for last night's Brit Awards.

A spokesman for Villa said it was not clear whether the club badge belonged to Amy or her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who has been receiving treatment at Pentonville Prison Hospital following a drugs overdose.

The spokesman said: "It came as a surprise to us, although there is a suggestion that it might belong to her husband.

"We were not aware that either she or her husband were Villa fans."

Her performance was faultless and she even mouthed "I love you" to her jailed husband, currently in custody on charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to an assault.

Wearing a leopard-print skirt and a tartan top, she sang Valerie on stage as the climax of a medley of hits performed by re-mix king Ronson.

Winehouse, 24, recently spent two weeks in a clinic after a leaked home video showed her apparently smoking crack cocaine.