Monday, 9 March 2009

Legal woes halt Amy Winehouse's US trip

Singer unable to attend music festival

Amy Winehouse's reps confirm she won't be flying to the States

Amy Winehouse has hit a hurdle in her hopes for a musical comeback.

The troubled singer, 25, has been forced to cancel her
appearance next month at California's Coachella Music Festival because of the charges she faces in London over an an alleged assault last September.

Denying that she has actually been denied access to the US,her rep Chris Goodman does confirm to PEOPLE, "She cannot go because of current legal issues."

She has, however, been confirmed as a major act at a 50th birthday celebration of her British record label, Island, on May 31.

It is believed that Winehouse, who has been settling into her new home after her lengthy Caribbean vacation, had begun the process of getting a work visa for Coachella but had yet to make a full application. Her London court date is March 17.

When she answered police bail last week and was formally charged, her management assumed that her legal case would not "be sorted out in time" for her to make the music fest.

This is the second time the singer has faced visa issues – having been granted one at the last minute at the time of the 2008 Grammy awards. In the end, she didn't attend because of logistical and timing issues, and, as she netted five awards, ended up performing from London via satellite.

By Simon Perry