Amy Winehouse is heading to Jamaica to channel the "spirit of Bob Marley" into her music. 

The 24-year-old singer is a huge fan of the late reggae legend - who died in 1981 aged just 36 - and is travelling to his home country to work with his Grammy-winning son Damian Marley on the follow-up to her critically acclaimed 'Back to Black' LP.

She was overheard telling her friends in her favourite north London pub, The Hawley Arms: "I love Jamaica and I want to feel Bob Marley's spirit in my music.

"I want to stay where he lived and hook up with Damian because he's a genius. I'm desperate to get over there."

Amy - whose husband Blake Fielder-Civil who is currently awaiting trial in London's Pentonville Prison on charges of perverting the course of justice and grievous bodily harm (GBH) - is looking forward to the music-making holiday on the sun-drenched Caribbean island.

A source said: "She wants to escape all her troubles back home for a bit and just throw herself into her music. She's always loved the Marleys and she wants her next album to have a reggae feel about it."

Amy has already dabbled in the laid-back Rastafarian sound. She performed Toots And The Maytals' reggae classic 'Monkey Man' at last year's Glastonbury music festival. The tune also features on the deluxe version of 'Back to Black'.