Amy Winehouse refused visa

Mar 9, 2009, 10:35 GMT

Amy Winehouse has been denied a US work visa, forcing her to pull out from headlining a major festival.

Amy was charged with assaulting a fan in the UK last week, leading to her being refused entry into America and dashing her plans to play the Coachella music festival in April.

The 'Back To Black' singer was one of the headline acts on the bill - which would have been Amy's biggest concert in the US to date - alongside Sir Paul McCartney and The Killers.

A spokesperson said: "She is not appearing at Coachella this year in the light of current legal issues."

A friend of Amy's added to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "Amy is absolutely gutted. She was second on the bill on the Saturday night to The Killers. As well as 75,000 fans, there would have been top record executives there too so she might have even tried out some new material.

"But because of the court case she can't get a visa. It's a real setback after she has been getting clean from drugs during her recent holiday in Barbados."

Amy also had to miss a live performance at the Grammy Awards in 2008, after her visa request was turned down by US authorities. She performed via a live video link up from the UK.

The 25-year-old star is due back in court in Westminster, London, next Tuesday (17.03.09) to face claims she punched dancer Sherene Flash in September 2008 at the End of Summer Ball in London.

Amy is alleged to have agreed to pose for a photograph, but became violent when Sherene asked if her friend could be in the shot.

Amy is due to make her UK comeback performance at a 50th anniversary concert for her record company, Island Records, on May 31.